Waiting For The End
by Vlaatjee
Summary: This is a story about loss, guilt and recovery. This is my first fan fiction and English is not my first language. So it's possible there will be some grammatical mistakes, my apologies. Please be nice.
1. Chapter 1

Waiting for the end

This is my first fan fiction and English is not my first language. So it's possible there will be some grammatical mistakes, my apologies. Please be nice.  
I do not own the Biker Mice From Mars.

* * *

 **Chapter one**

It looked like it was a day as usual. Clear blue sky, the sun was warming up and birds were singing. Charley looked out the window of the Last Chance Garage and saw in the distant Limburgers tower crumble into dust again. She smiled to herself. Her life had changed so much since she had met the Biker Mice. Before that, everything was grey, alone and cold. But now she felt like she was reborn, wide awake after a long and deep sleep. She felt loved and was seeing everything in color again. Even if they drove her crazy sometimes, they were her family and she was so grateful that they'd come into her life.

Throttle, the leader of the trio. His calm personality, his husky voice. Always taking care of everything, keeping things under control.  
Modo, the biggest of the three, but the most gentle one. Polite, sweet.. He reminded Charley of a big teddy bear.  
And Vinnie... Oh Vinnie... The most egotistical, macho and sometimes the most annoying. But underneath that big mouth, a soft and loyal side. Always there for her when she was in trouble.  
She loved the mice like brothers, but Vinnie always would have a special place in her heart. Maybe one day she was gonna tell him that. But for now, things were okay how they were. A flirty relationship with deeper meanings behind it, but well hidden.  
The sound of motorcycles in the distant distracted her from her thoughts. Loud whooping, singing off key... Celebrating another victory in defeating Limburger.  
"Yes", Charley smiled. "Just a day as usual."  
Oh, if only she knew that this day was going to be far from usual. That this day was gonna change everything.

Loud engines, singing and heavy metal echoed through the street.  
"Ahh, what a beautiful day", Modo sighed happily.  
"Yep!", Throttle agreed.  
"Another job done by the baddest mamma jammers from Mars, Biker Mice style!" Vinnie whooped and popped a wheelie before riding off loud laughing.  
They had stopped Limburger and crashed his tower before lunchtime, could it get any better? Now it was time for lunch with Charley.  
"I wonder if Charley already started with lunch?", Vinnie asked with a hopeful glance on his face.  
"I'm starving, all this hero work is not good for my stomach."  
Modo and Throttle looked at each other.  
"You just want to show off with your latest stunts and tell her how amazing you were today", Modo said.  
Throttle smiled. "Yeah bro, the big fella has a point. You are getting predictable."  
Vinnie smiled too "Well thanks bro's, for acknowledging how awesome I am!"  
Modo was about to give a snarl back, but Throttle stopped him.  
"You better stop this now, or we'll never hear the end if this."  
Modo knew he was right. Vinnie's ego was already big enough and right after a fight, with all the adrenaline still in his system, it always blew up to maximum proportion. And anything he would say, was only going to feed it.

They stopped for a red light, close to the garage. Vinnie was revving his bike impatiently, moaning how hungry he was.  
"Can we just for once, just for once, ignore all these stupid rules and just go?! I'm hungry!"  
Throttle sighed and looked at his impatient bro. "We always obey the law, Vincent."  
Vinnie growled and looked up to the sky, feeling a little annoyed. "But.." He was just about to make another remark when something caught his eye.  
A weird looking man was on the roof of a building nearby the Last Chance. He was wearing a white coat with black boots and weird green glasses…  
"HEY!" Vinnie yelled. "What is that weirdo doing up there?"  
Modo and Throttle both looked up to the spot were Vinnie was pointing at.  
"Yeah", Mode said. "Didn't we pound the guy just minutes ago?"  
"And buried him under a building?", Throttle finished.

They were about to ask the man (or whatever he was) himself, but when they saw the bazooka in his hand, they stopped. It was like time stood still. Karbunkle looked at them and smiled. He said nothing, but the mice could feel his intentions. Payback time. Karbunkle aimed the bazooka at the Last Chance Garage and before any of the mice could react, he fired it.  
They watched in horror when the rocket made his way to the garage. They were not able to move, they could only watch and wait for the explosion that was gonna change their lives forever.  
For moments, the only sound was the high tone of the rocket flying through the air. And then… BOOM! A deafening explosion when the rocket hit the building. Rocks were flying in the air and the power of the explosion knocked the mice of their bikes. Rocks were falling back on the ground and after that… silence…  
The mice were lying on the ground with shocked looks on their faces. Before them was a krater in the ground. The sign of the Last Chance Garage was blown off, lying inches before them. The only sign that the building they loved so much even had existed.  
Vinnie shook his head, feeling numb and hearing a high tone in his ears from the explosion. He stared at the place where the garage used to be and his throat tightened when fear took over his body.  
"Charley…", he whispered.  
For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then realization hit and Vinnie jumped at his feet, whistling for his bike. The bike immediately obeyed and Vinnie jumped on her seat and raced to the remains of the garage. Throttle and Modo, both recovered from the first shock, followed suit, worried about their human friend.

A quick glance over his shoulder learned Throttle that Karbunkle was gone.

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Please review! :)


	2. Chapter 2

So, here is chapter two. It's going to be a tense one, sorry guys!

* * *

 **Chapter two**

When Modo and Throttle arrived shortly after Vinnie, they saw his bike lying on the ground and their younger bro desperately moving rocks, whispering Charley's name. Modo and Throttle climbed of their bikes and ran over to their bro. They could see he was almost losing it and Modo laid a hand on his shoulder in a attempt to calm him down, even if he felt the same fear for their precious friend. Vinnie yanked himself free and continued his work. Modo shared a worried look with Throttle, who signed that the only thing they could do right now, was helping Vinnie in the search for Charley.  
Throttle couldn't help himself of getting the feeling they were too late. He knew, Modo knew and Vinnie knew. But all they could do, no MUST do, was try.

After a few minutes of digging and throwing away rocks, Modo suddenly stopped. He walked back slowly and tears were filling his eyes. He couldn't stop stare at what he saw and let out a low growl. "No…" and he fell on his knees.  
That drew the attention of Throttle and Vinnie and they ran over to him.  
"What is it, big guy?", Throttle asked, but already knew the answer. Modo didn't respond and Throttle slowly walked over the the place where Modo was staring at.  
There she was, the only woman they had trusted on this planet. Who had helped them after their crash on Earth, who made sure that everything was alright with them, who was the best wrench jockey in Chi-town, their only family at this point…  
She looked quite peaceful. It looked like she had a hard hit in the head and died immediately. No suffering, and her body still intact. If only they would had made it in time to be here.  
Throttle sighed and looked away. Vinnie was next to him, standing perfectly still. He stared at the body of the woman he loved. He lost her. He couldn't keep her safe. He was too late. He failed..  
He swallowed, expecting tears to come. But they didn't. His eyes were dry as an old leaf. But the pain… He gritted his teeth, the pain in his chest was unbearable. His tail began to twitch, his fist were clenched. He didn't know how to deal with all this emotions. With this pain.

Throttle looked at him, but Vinnie couldn't stop staring at Charley. Modo joined them, loss at words. There was a long silence, Throttle and Modo didn't know what to say and Vinnie was struggling with his emotions. His shock slowly turned into anger. Anger slowly turned into rage and after that.. pure hatred. That fucking slimeball did this. He took away his family, his planet and now he took away Charley too. What was it that he was always saying? Too much is never enough. Well, this was too much and enough. He was gonna make him pay for this. Limburger…  
A growl escaped his mouth before Vinnie turned himself around and started marching to his bike.  
Throttle grabbed him by the arm.  
"Vincent, don't."  
Vinnie slowly turned around and looked Throttle in the eye. Throttle saw the anger in his eyes and the pain beneath it.  
He always had known that Vinnie had a dark side when pushing the wrong buttons. Especially when someone hurted the person's he cared about. It was Throttle's job to protect him and stop him before he would do something stupid. Something that he was gonna regret later.  
But even Throttle never saw Vinnie this upset and he knew that this time, he wasn't going to be able to stop him. But he had to try.  
"Vincent.. Vinnie, listen to me. Whatever plan is in your head right now, is driven by emotions. You will regret it later and more importantly; it will not bring Charley back."  
He studied Vinnie's face. "I know you are in pain right now, but.."  
Vinnie yanked his arm free. "You know nothing, Throttle." (A/N I've watched too many Game Of Thrones I guess) and with that, he ran to his bike and drove away with dangerous speed.  
Throttle sighed and watched how Vinnie disappeared around a corner. Modo walked over to him.  
"Maybe it's for the best we go after him? Maybe we're still able to stop him".  
Throttle nodded. "Let's ride".

Vinnie sped through the streets, pushing his bike to the limits. All he could think of was how this time, that stinkfish had to pay. No limits, no regrets later, no mercy. The pain in his chest grew bigger and fed the rage he was driving by.  
He drove straight to the remains of the tower. It felt like ages ago that they had demolished it and the victory they had felt. Without even thinking, Vinnie drove to the building next to the tower. Limburger always hid there when his tower was trashed by the mice and needed to be rebuilt.  
Vinnie revved his bike and crashed through the window. With a shrieking sound, he stopped right in front of the subject of his anger.  
Limburger looked surprised and annoyed at the violental entrance of the mouse. He glared at the white furred loudmouth.  
"And what do I owe this pleasure to?", he asked, narrowing his eyes. He sat behind his desk, working on a new plan to destroy the planet Earth and those rodents.  
He also was gloating that Karbunkle finally had succeeded in blowing up that garage of that annoying woman. Of course, he was prepared that the mice would pay him a visit after that. But he was slightly surprised that the white furred adrenaline junkie came alone. And even he hated to admit it, he felt a pang of fear by feeling the rage that surrounded the white mouse.  
"You know perfectly why I'm here, cheesebreath!", Vinnie snarled. He grabbed his gun and stepped of his bike. The bike stayed close to him, in case her rider needed help.  
"Ahh my dear rodent, are you upset that I've finally blew up that irritating garage?" Limburger gloated, his hand slowly reaching for the button under his desk.  
Vinnie pointed his gun to Limburgers head. "You've killed her!", he growled. His hand with the gun shook a little by saying these words and the pain in his chest twisted and curled, like a knife in his chest.  
Limburger looked at him. "You mean that annoying woman is dead?", he asked a little surprised. He definitely didn't see that one coming. He'd expected that the woman was with the mice during the last fight. He slowly stood up. The pain in the eyes of the young mouse was very clear. Limburger decided to mess a little with the mouse his head before he was gonna push the button for help. He felt that he had nothing to fear from one mouse and he knew that they drew the line by killing people cold blooded (or aliens that is). The pussy's, he thought.  
If only he knew that he was underestimating the white mouse.

"You really crossed the line this time, Limburger!", Vinnie said, waving his gun. "Enough is enough." And he pointed the gun on Limburgers head again. "This time you won't get away with it!"  
Limburger smiled and sat down on the chair behind his desk.  
"My dear boy, your rage is obviously pointing at the wrong man, or fish. After all, where were you to protect her? Are you sure you are not just mad at yourself and take that out on me?"  
Vinnie's tail began to twitch at these words and a red glow formed before his eyes.  
"Shut up", he whispered.  
Limburger continued: "You've let her become close to you, in a world of war and death. It was your job to protect her. Why didn't you? Why have you failed on her?"  
"SHUT UP!", Vinnie screamed. His finger was on the trigger. "It was YOU! You've killed her and you are gonna pay for that!"  
At that moment Throttle and Modo burst through the opening that Vinnie had made.  
Throttle jumped off his bike. "Vincent, stop!", he screamed as he ran to Vinnie who was obviously losing it right now.  
But it was too late. Again. Vinnie pulled the trigger and shot Limburger right between the eyes. With a slightly surprised look on his face, the fish fell off his chair. He was dead.  
Throttle and Modo looked in shock at Limburger and then to Vinnie, who was pacing through the room. At that moment, Karbunkle choose to come in the room. Oh boy, talk about bad timing. Without hesitating Vinnie pointed his gun and shot Karbunkle in the chest. The doctor fell on his back, gasping for air. After a few seconds, he stopped moving.

"Vincent, ENOUGH", Throttle said with a low, dangerous voice.  
Vinnie's arm went limp and the gun fell on the ground. Throttle and Modo walked over to him and tried to calm him down.  
"Vinnie..", Throttle started, but when he saw the murderous look on Vinnie's face, he decided that this wasn't the right time to lecture his bro. His broken bro. The cheery one, who always knew how to lighten any situation, who make everybody laugh in hard times. The one thing Limburger had managed before he died, was breaking the spirit of his youngest bro. And for that alone, he'd deserved to die. But how much he hated to admit it, Throttle knew Vinnie made the wrong choice, a choice which will have consequences. But Throttle vowed to himself that he would do anything to protect his bro. Right now, the main point was to get Vinnie out of here.  
"Vincent, we need to go. Let's go back to the scoreboard."  
Vinnie looked at him, his ears drooped, a shadow of the cheerful mouse he once was.  
"What..", he swallowed. "What about Charley?", he asked.  
Modo patted him on the shoulder. "I will take care of her, make sure she gets a nice place to rest."  
Since Charley didn't have any family left beside them, it was their responsibility that she got a proper funeral.  
"But, I've never got the chance to say goodbye to her", Vinnie whispered.  
"You can say goodbye before we bury her, Vinnie my man", Modo said.  
Throttle agreed and leaded Vincent back to his bike. "Let's ride bro".  
Modo waved at them and said to Throttle that he will contact them if he had found a place for Charley. Throttle nodded and drove away. Vinnie followed him with a slow pace that didn't match with him at all.

Modo watched them go and sighed. "What a mess". He took his bike and drove back to the garage with a heavy heart.

* * *

Please review! :)


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews so far, they are very welcome!

* * *

 **Chapter three**

Vinnie stopped his bike and looked into the mouse shaped mirror on his bike to see that Modo drove away from the building in the direction of the garage.  
He pushed a button on his bike and two rockets fired from the back of his bike. The building exploded, along what's left inside.  
Boom, Vinnie thought. Rest in pieces, fucking stinkfish.  
That's how he usually deals with pain and emotions. He blows up stuff. A lot. But this time it didn't take away the pain. It didn't even got less heavy.  
He sighed and he grabbed the handlebars of his bike. How was he going to live with himself? As much as he hated to admit it, that stinkfish was right.  
He did let Charley getting close to him and he had failed with protecting her. Just like Harley.. But this pain was more than he could carry. He felt broken.  
Vinnie heard a motorcycle stopping next to him. He looked up and saw the sad expression on his bro's face.  
"Come on Vinnie, let's go."  
Vinnie let his bike drive them back to the scoreboard, his thoughts miles away.

Vinnie walked into the scoreboard and looked around. Everything here reminded him of Charley. She was the one who had said this would be a good hide out. She had arranged the little furniture, had helped them to built a little kitchen and bathroom in it, had helped them to make it their home.  
Throttle stood behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder.  
"Go to sleep Vin, I'll wake you when Modo is ready."  
Too tired to protest, Vinnie climbed in his hammock and closed his eyes. Strangely, it didn't take long for him to fall asleep.  
Throttle looked at his bro to make sure he was asleep. When he saw that Vinnie was out like a light, he walked over to the small kitchen and grabbed a cold root beer from the tiny refrigerator. With a heavy sight he lets himself fall on the couch and stared at the wall.  
It was all a complete mess, he thought and took a sip of his root beer. Charley was dead. He still couldn't believe it. It was like a nightmare.  
And then the break down of Vinnie. He wished he had done more to stop him from going after Limburger, but what could've possibly stopped him?  
Shooting him, but that would've been ridiculous.  
Deep in his heart he knew Limburger and Karbunkle had gotten what they deserved. But still.. it was wrong..  
They never kill people, at least not cold blooded. That was a line they had never crossed.  
Of course, Vinnie with his temper was always the one closest to that line. But he never had crossed it. Not until today.

Throttle knew he had to make a call to Mars, to tell Carbine and Stoker what happened, talk about the consequences.  
But he couldn't find the strength. Not now. He would make the call after they'd buried Charley.  
Hours went by and Throttle was still deep in thoughts. Then his bike beeped. He walked over to her.  
"Yes Modo?"  
Modo's voice crackled to life. "I've found a place for Charley, it's close to the garage. I'm ready if you guys are. How is Vinnie?"  
Throttle pushed the button on his bike to reply.  
"He's sleeping right now. I'll wake him up and take him with me to you. We will use the tracker on your bike so we know where to find you. Over and out."  
Throttle shuts down the radio and walked over to Vinnie. The white furred mouse was still fast asleep, with a frown on his face.  
Throttle sighed. "Vincent, wake up", and he shook him softly.  
Vinnie awoke with a startl, almost falling out of his hammock. He looked up at Throttle with immense pain.  
"This wasn't a bad dream, right?", he asked with a small voice, almost childish.  
"I'm afraid not, Vinnie", Throttle answered, offering his hand. "Come on, she is ready."  
Vinnie took his hand to stand up. They walked to their respective bikes and drove to the place where Modo was according the tracker.

It was a beautiful place in a small park close by the garage, but no too close to be hit by the explosion.  
It was already getting dark and the moonlight shined through the trees.  
Under a beatiful, big tree Modo had digged a big, human sized hole. Charley was laying next to it.  
Modo was able to get her body out of the building before the rescue team had arrived. He had cleaned her up, so now she was almost looking like she was asleep. Almost.

Vinnie sat on his bike, couldn't move a muscle. He swallowed and looked at Charley. His beautiful Charley girl.  
He couldn't believe he really lost her, before he was even able to make her his.  
He slowly stepped off his bike and walked over to her. He fell on his knees and gently took her hand.  
Expecting the tears to come, he bowed his head. But the tears still didn't come. There was only the pain. The heavy burden of guilt.  
It was stuck inside him. He looked at Charley.  
"I'll promise you this, sweetheart. I will never, NEVER, make this mistake again. No one is ever getting close to me again."  
He stopped talking because his voice was about to break.  
After a few deep breaths, he whispered: "I love you, my sweet Charley girl and I am so, so sorry that I've let you down. I will never forgive myself and I will never, ever forget you. Forever yours.." and he planted a soft kiss on her forehead.  
Vinnie slowly climbed back on his feet. He could feel the staring eyes from his bro's, but he ignored them. He jumped on his bike, revved the engine and drove away.  
Throttle and Modo looked at each other.  
"Better leave him right now," Throttle said. Modo agreed.  
They both said their goodbye to Charley and gently put her in the grave. Modo began to cover her with dirt and tears were streaming over his face. Throttle helped him and when they were done, he placed a flower on top of the grave. One tear slipped out of his eye.  
"Farewell, Charley girl. Thanks for everything."  
Modo stood next to him. "Rest in peace Charley ma'am. I will never forget you."  
And with a last glance over their shoulder, they climbed on their bikes and rode back to the scoreboard.

When they arrived there, there was no sign of Vinnie.  
"I'm worried about him", Modo said when they sat on the couch with a can of root beer.  
"I've never saw him like this before. He murdered Limburger and Karbunkle without even blinking." Modo shook his head.  
Throttle looked at his bike to track Vinnie's.  
"His tracker is turned off", Throttle said. "So, he could be anywhere right now. Knowing Vincent, he will come back."  
Modo looked at him, slightly annoyed. "Knowing Vincent, he is gonna get himself in trouble and in the state he is right now... Well, let's just say that things could get really ugly."  
Throttle looked frustrated. "I know Modo, but he could be anywhere. I don't know where to look, it's a big city. I think the best idea right now is to turn on the police scanner and wait untill we hear something that sounds like Vinnie."  
Modo agreed, knowing that they didn't have much choice right now.

Throttle walked over to the communicator.  
"I need to contact Carbine and Stoker to tell them what happened."  
Modo sat next to him.  
Throttle pushed a button and the screen came to life.  
They waited for the connection to be made. The screen flickered and the image of Stoker filled the screen.  
"Hey there mudpuppies!", he yelled.  
"Hey coach", Throttle answered. "Is Carbine with you? I need to tell you something that concerns both of you."  
"Yeah, she is here", and at that moment Carbine popped up next to Stoker.  
"Hey there, stranger", she said with a smile, that immediately disappeared when she saw the look on both Throttle's and Modo's face.  
"Wait, where is the punk?", Stoker asked.  
Throttle sighted. "That is one part of the problem. We don't know where he is. Something happened today."  
Stoker and Carbine shared worried looks.  
"What happened, Throttle?", Carbine asked.  
"Well, ehm…" Throttle didn't know how to tell this softly, so he decided just to cut through the case.  
"Charley is dead", he said.  
Stoker and Carbine both inhaled sharply.  
"What happened?", Carbine asked again.  
Throttle told them the whole story without letting his emotions getting him. Like a soldier who was reporting the status of a battlefield.  
Carbine and Stoker looked shocked.  
"Vinnie killed Limburger and Karbunkle?!", Carbine asked with disbelief.  
Throttle just nodded. "I know there will be consequences, but please Carbine, don't judge him too hard. He is broken. He is taking Charley's death very hard, we all do, but he… He just snapped..."  
Carbine closed her eyes and opened them after a few seconds.  
"When you find him, let me know. We are coming to get you and take you back to Mars. There is nothing left for you guys on Earth. Come home and then we will make decisions about what to do with this... situation."  
Throttle nodded. "I will contact you when we find him."  
"Oh and Throttle?" Carbine hesitated. "I'm sorry for your loss. You too, Modo. I know how important Charley was for you guys. Stand down soldiers", and she broke the connection.

Throttle leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Modo stood up and said: "We really need to find Vinnie."  
The moment Throttle wanted to react, the police scanner came to life.  
"This is CAH12, we need back up by a fight at bar Black. Suspect is very aggressive and armed. Approach with caution, over."  
Throttle and Modo looked at each other.  
"That must be him, let's ride."

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Please review! :)


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for the reviews! Really appreciate it! Here is the next chapter! A little more action this time.

* * *

 **Chapter four**

Earlier that night, Vinnie drove straight to bar Black. It was a dark environment, full with criminals and garbage off the city. It was not a safe place to go, but Vinnie didn't care. He just needed a drink so the pain would go away. He parked his bike outside and walked straight to the bar inside.  
"A double whiskey", he said to the bartender.  
The man narrowed his eyes at this unknown customer, but didn't say anything. He poured the whiskey into a glass and put it on the bar. Vinnie emptied the glass in a draft and asked for another. After ten glasses he could finally feel that the pain began to fade away. It was still there, but just not so heavy anymore. Vinnie sighed from relief. He felt numb, but that was a welcome feeling right now. He could breathe a little. He stared at his half full glass and was deep in thoughts.  
Suddenly, he heard commotion outside. The sound of a motorcycle that revved her engine and the familiar sound of cannons popping out. Vinnie jumped of his seat and stumbled outside. What he saw, fired the rage inside him again. Five man stood by his precious red bike, and by the looks of things one of them was trying to get on his bike. HIS bike. Vinnie knew his bike could take care of herself, but NO one was allowed to touch his bike beside him. That was crossing a line.

Vinnie gritted his teeth and launched himself at the man who was trying to steal his bike. The man let out a sound of surprise when he suddenly was pinned at the ground by someone very strong.  
Vinnie looked at him with eyes full of rage. "Didn't your mother tell you to get your filthy hands off of other people's stuff? You might get hurt."  
The man opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Vinnie clenched his fist and punched the man so hard in the face that he could feel the nose break. The man was out cold. The other four man, at first too surprised to help their friend, attacked Vinnie.  
Vinnie took one man with his tail and threw him into the wall from the bar, as if the man didn't weigh eighty kilo.  
The other three cornered Vinnie and one man took a hit at Vinnie's head. Vinnie's helmet fell off and the three man stood still and stared at him in shock.  
"You're… you're a mouse?", one of them asked in disbelief.  
"Boo", Vinnie said and punched the man in the stomach. The man bent over in pain and with a perfect uppercut, Vinnie knocked the man down.  
"Three down, two to go", he smirked.  
The two remain man looked at each other. One grabbed a knife and tried to stab Vinnie. Vinnie dodged the attack, but couldn't prevent that the knife cut his arm.  
He didn't feel the pain, but saw the blood coming out of the wound, turning his precious white fur red. He glared at the man, narrowing his eyes.  
"This better not leave a scar."  
The man felt fear by hearing the ice cold tone of the creature in front of him. He looked around to see his other friend running away.  
"Well, I guess it's just you and me then", Vinnie said with an evil smile.  
The man stepped back in fear and Vinnie attacked. He kicked the man in the stomach and the poor guy fell on his back. Vinnie kicked hard against the man's knee. A loud crack and the man howled in pain.  
Vinnie grabbed the man by his color and started hitting him. The rage inside him made his blood boil and was growing bigger, fed bij grieve, guilt and alcohol.

Suddenly, two pairs of hands grab him by the arms and drag him away from the man.  
Vinnie screamed in rage, trying to get loose from whoever was holding him. He struggled as hard as he could, but it didn't made any difference.  
"Vinnie, stop! This is not who you are!"  
He recognized Modo's voice. He kept struggling.  
"Vincent, stop. This is as far as you can go. You've crossed too many lines today. I know you are in immense pain, but torturing or killing people is not going to take the pain away", Throttle said softly in his ear. And then, when Vinnie was still trying to fight them off, he used his "dangerous" voice. He only used it when it was really necessary and to make very clear there was no other way then obey.  
"Vincent, enough is enough. We are going and you are coming with us. Even if I have to drag you the whole way there."  
Vinnie's body went limp.  
"They tried to steal my bike", he said, pouting.  
Throttle shook his head. "Your bike can take care of herself and you know that. You are drunk. You can ride with Modo back to the score board, you can't drive by yourself."  
"Come on little bro", Modo said, gently pushing Vinnie to Little Hoss. Modo took his seat and Vinnie climbed behind him. Modo wrapped his tail around Vinnie's waist and felt the weight of Vinnie leaning against his back.  
Throttle picked up Vinnie's helmet and gently placed it on Vinnie's head. Then he jumped on his own bike and whistled to 'Sweetheart'.  
"Come on girl, let's ride".  
When they drove away, the people of the bar stared at them until they were gone. At that moment, the police arrived. But they were too late, the 'suspect' was already gone and nobody dared to say who he was and were he went.

Back at the scoreboard, Modo was helping Vinnie of his bike. He noticed the cut in his arm.  
"We need to clean that up, Vin."  
Vinnie stared at him with half closed eyes and pouted.  
"No man, it hurts!" and he stumbled away from Modo.  
Luckily, Modo knew how to treat a drunken Vinnie, since this wasn't the first time. It was important to stay calm and be kind, and be strict at the right moment.  
"I know it hurts, little bro, but I need to clean it because otherwise it will get infected. Infected wounds give ugly scars and that's something we don't want on your studly body, right?"  
Vinnie thought about it for a second, then he nodded.  
"Right! But I have to say, my body is perfect, with or without scars" and he flexed his muscles.  
Modo smiled at himself. If you wanted something from Vinnie, the best way to get it was giving his ego a boost.  
"Sit down, Vinnie", Modo said, gesturing at the chair next to him.  
Vinnie walked unsteady to the chair. Now the adrenaline from the fight wore off, he could feel how drunk he really was. Throttle walked in with the first aid kit.  
"Heeeeeey Throttle! Our fearless leader!", Vinnie cheered.  
Throttle ignored him.  
"How bad is it, Modo?"  
Modo looked at the wound on Vinnie's arm.  
"He need stitches", he said, frowning.  
Vinnie jumped at his feet by the word stitches.  
"No way!", he yelled and he tried to escape. Unfortunately, with all the alcohol in his system, that failed. He tripped over his tail and fell face forward on the ground.

Throttle and Modo both sighed. This was gonna be a long night. Modo picked the white mouse off the ground and threw him back in the chair.  
"You are gonna sit down and you don't move until I tell you otherwise. Or else, I will chain you to this chair and you know I will!"  
Vinnie snickered and saluted. "Yes sir!"  
Modo looked at the wound again and tried to clean it. It was a hard task, because one: the blood was very difficult to remove from the snow white fur and second: the body attached to it couldn't sit still.  
"Sit still!", Modo demanded.  
"But Modo, it hurts!", Vinnie whined.  
"Oh shut up! The baddest mamma jammer off the whole universe can't handle a little battle wound?!"  
Vinnie glared at him and without any warning, he started singing. Very off key of course.  
"Do your ears hang low, do they wobble to and fro?"  
Modo sighed and started stitching the wound. Luckily for him, Vinnie was distracted by trying to find the words of the song since he was too drunk to remember. When Modo was done with the stitching, he wrapped a bandage around Vinnie's arm.  
"There you go, little bro."  
Vinnie stopped singing, to relief of Throttle and Modo.  
"Thanks bro, but tell me; how can I look studly with this stupid bandage on my arm? I have a reputation to hold on, you know?", he said pouting.  
"I'm sure a little piece of bandage wouldn't destroy your reputation, if there even is a reputation."  
Modo ducked when Vinnie tried to punch him in the face.  
Vinnie smiled arrogantly. "Well, at least Charley…"

As soon he spoke her name, he stopped talking. His ears drooped. Modo grabbed him by the arm.  
"Come on, little man, lets get you to bed." He helped Vinnie to get out of his booth's, pants and bandoliers and into his hammock. He put the blanket over his white furred bro.  
"Modo?", Vinnie asked with a small voice. Modo looked at him and felt a pang of sadness when he saw the lost expression on Vinnie's face. He looked so young and innocent.  
"Yes Vin?"  
"She is really gone, isn't she?"  
Modo swallowed hard and answered with a voice thick of emotion.  
"I'm afraid she is, bro."  
Vinnie clamped himself at Modo.  
"I've let her down, Modo. I couldn't protect her.." He could barely speak, overwhelmed by guilt.  
Modo gently made himself loose from the devastated mouse and looked him in the eye.  
"Don't you do this to yourself, Vin. It's not your fault!", he said firmly, but had the same feeling of guilt. They all let Charley down. And now they were paying the price. And that hurted like hell.  
One single tear escaped Vinnie's eye. He lied back on his pillow.  
"I wasn't fast enough..", he mumbled, his eyes closed. After a few minutes he was out like a light, exhausted from all the emotions from this day and the alcohol.

Modo watched him with heavy heart. He'd never saw his bro cry, always busy hiding behind a mask. Blowing up things, pulling dangerous stunts and putting his life at risk.. that was how Vinnie dealt with emotions. Making fun of everything, the more danger, the better. It was the first time that he showed his real emotions. But, that was a good thing, Modo thought. It is better to let it out than holding it back. This would be a good start for recovery. He had hope for his bro.

Unknown to Modo, this was the first and also the last time that he would see Vincent van Wham cry.

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Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for the reviews. :D

* * *

 **Chapter five**

The next morning, Throttle and Modo woke up early. They had decided last night that it was for the best that they waited till the next day to call Mars and to tell Vinnie the plan. They all needed a good night sleep.  
Modo and Throttle stood a little lost in the small kitchen. Normal routine was that they would go to the garage for breakfast, or Charley brought breakfast to them.  
"Ehmm, should I go out and grab some dogs?", Modo asked unsure.  
"Ehm, yeah, sounds like a plan", Throttle said and he looked at Vinnie.  
"I'll wake him up."  
Modo took his bike and left.  
Vinnie was lying on his back in his hammock, one leg swinging at the side, snoring loud. Very Vinnie.  
Throttle walked over to him and shook him softly. Vinnie didn't respond. Throttle shook harder, but the only reaction he received was that Vinnie pulled the blanket over his head.  
Throttle sighed. "Okay, this needs a little more drastic measures." He grabbed the pillow under the white mouse his head and smacked him full in the face.  
Vinnie's reaction would be funny under other circumstances. He jerked right up and fell out of his hammock, face forward.  
"Hey man, what gives!?", he yelled when he jumped at his feet.  
"You wouldn't wake up", Throttle said dryly.  
Vinnie glared at him.  
"I could have break my neck or something worse!"  
Throttle smiled. "Good you are awake. Modo is getting breakfast, so maybe you want to clean yourself up before that? You look like shit."  
Vinnie, recovered from his shock, shook his head and felt a 1000 hammers slamming behind his eyes. Talk about a hangover…  
With one glare at Throttle, he turned around and walked to the bathroom.

He looked in the mirror and saw bloodshot eyes staring back, a pale face and a messy fur. Vinnie sighed. The pain in his chest was back in full force and was not a good combination with his hangover. He felt ashamed that he'd cried last night. He never took off his mask, but yesterday was just too much.  
He looked in the mirror again and vowed to himself, like he had promised Charley, that he will never let someone become close to him. And that yesterday the first and also the last time was that he had showed his emotions. It was time to put the mask back on were it belonged and let it stay there for the rest of his life. No more love, no more hope to settle down with somebody, nobody to make his.  
The only people he allowed to stay close to him, were his bro's. They were his best friends, family. And they could take care of themselves, most of the time that is. But they were there for each other when needed, backing each other up.  
Vinnie took a quick shower, trying not to wet the bandage on his arm. When he was done, he dried himself and put on some clothes. He glanced in the mirror one more time, to make sure he looked okay. He took a deep breath and walked to the little kitchen.

Modo was back and brought a huge pile of hotdogs. Vinnie joined them by sitting on a chair at the kitchen table.  
"Morning bro's", he said with a smile and began to eat like he didn't had eat in two weeks.  
Modo and Throttle shared confused looks. They didn't know what to expect how Vinnie would behave today, but one thing was for sure, they didn't expect to see their younger bro back to his normal self. Well, acting like his normal self. It was obvious he still was upset.  
When they had finished breakfast, Throttle looked at Vinnie.  
"We need to talk, Vinnie", he said, studying his bro's face.  
Vinnie looked at him with his trademark smile.  
"What about?", he asked.  
Throttle sighted. "About what happened yesterday Vincent, what else?!"  
Vinnie's smile disappeared, but his face remained blank.  
"What about yesterday?"  
"We've lost Charley, remember? You've shot Limburger and Karbunkle."  
Vinnie's face still gave nothing away. He almost looked nonchalant.  
"I know we've lost Charley and that is tragic, but unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about it. And yes, I've killed Limburger and Karbunkle. Dammit, they had got what they deserved. They are finally gone, Earth is saved by me. Talk about no appreciation."  
Modo's jaw fell open. He was shocked at the complete transformation of his bro. He really thought yesterday that his younger bro was finally learning to share his emotions with them. But he was wrong, obviously.  
Throttle looked annoyed.  
"Vinnie, you can't just kill people cold blooded and get away with it! Even in war, there are rules and you know that! You talk about it like it is nothing!"  
Throttle tried to calm himself down by taking a few deep breaths.  
"Look, I know what happened yesterday devastated you. And I can understand why you did it. But this attitude, acting like you don't care… It's wrong bro!"  
Vinnie just shrugged his shoulders.  
Throttle couldn't believe it. But deep inside, Vinnie's behaviour didn't surprise him. He always had been a stubborn mouse, difficult to talk to. But still…  
"Well, Carbine and Stoker are informed about the situation. I've called them yesterday to tell them everything and I've called them again this morning. They are coming to take us back to Mars. They will be here tomorrow morning."  
Vinnie could feel his chest tighten when he heard the words. That meant leaving Charley behind. The pain in his chest grew even bigger, but he tried to push it away, tried to ignore it.  
"Well, that's great news right? So you can finally be reunited with your beloved girlfriend", he said, wiggling his eyebrows.  
Throttle rolled his eyes, it was obvious that a normal conversation was out of the question right now.  
"Make sure you've packed your stuff tomorrow morning, we will talk about this when we are back on Mars, with Carbine and Stoker.  
Vinnie jumped of his seat. "I'm gonna take a ride".

He whistled and his bike revved her engine. He climbed on and drove away through the window.  
He needed some air and a good, fast ride. It would be nicer to have a fight, but hey, you just can't have it all. It was so much harder than he had thought to act like he was doing fine. The pain in his chest was so hard to ignore. He sped through the streets and took the highway. When he had the space, he hit the accelerator. His bike immediately responded, eager to gain speed, just like her rider.  
Vinnie swirled between the traffic and was hoping that he wouldn't run into the police. That would be something. Throttle would kill him.  
Without even knowing where he was driving to, he drove back to the garage.  
Vinnie stopped his bike and looked at the remains of the garage with heavy heart. How was it possible that he, the velocity atrocity, wasn't fast enough to save Charley? Why did he just stand there, watching. He just watched, did nothing. Vinnie grabbed the handlebars of his bike tightly when guilt overwhelmed him. He wasn't used to the feeling of failure. He didn't know how to deal with it. The only time he felt this was when he'd lost Harley. He failed her too. It had broke his heart. But then he had met Charley and he finally had felt hope again. Hope for a happy life, being loved and giving love. But it wasn't meant to be. Now she was gone, because of him.

Vinnie sighed and drove to the park nearby the garage. He stepped of his bike and walked to Charley's grave. He sat down on the ground.  
"Hey sweetheart. I'm here to say a final goodbye. We are going back to Mars." He stared at the flower on top of the grave.  
"You deserved so much better, sweetheart. And I cannot say how sorry I am. I was too late. I really don't know how I'm going to live with myself. But I have no choice. I will find a way. I must. Maybe I'll die early in a battle on Mars, so we can be together again. That would be nice, heah Charley girl?"  
Vinnie smiled, but it vanished almost at the same time. Somehow, he got the feeling he wasn't going to get away with it so easily. Well, then he must try harder.  
"Bye sweetheart, until we meet again." Vinnie slowly rose to his feet and his bike beeped to him, like she wanted to let him know that she was there for him. Vinnie patted her on the side, glanced one last time over his shoulder to Charley and drove back to the scoreboard.

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Please review! :)


	6. Chapter 6

Happy new year you guys!

Thanks again for the reviews, I'm very humbled by your kind words. Really appreciate it!

So, here's another chapter, I hope you guys like it.

* * *

 **Chapter six**

The next morning, everything was packed. The scoreboard looked empty and cold. The mice were looking out of the window to the sky, searching for any sign of a spaceship. Suddenly, a glitter of light and a black dot in the distant.  
"Well, are we gonna wait inside until they crash in here again, or maybe it's for the best if we'll wait outside?", Modo wondered out loud.  
Throttle and Vinnie agreed to wait outside, since the scoreboard seemed to be a parking lot for space ships. They grabbed their stuff and for the last time, they drove out of the window.  
"AAAOOOWW, I am so gonna miss this, it was always such a great start for an heroic mission", Vinnie laughed.  
Both Modo and Throttle agreed, smiling to themselves. They waited on the field until the spaceship was gonna land (or crash). Surprisingly, the ship landed perfectly on the middle of the field. The engines turned off and the door opened. Carbine appeared in the door opening.  
"Soldiers", she said with a strict voice.  
Her face softened when she looked at Throttle.  
"Hey there, stranger", and with that she jumped in his open arms.  
"I'm so glad to see you", Throttle said.

Vinnie and Modo whooped, cheering at the lovebirds. After a hot looking kiss, Carbine made herself loose and looked at them.  
"Hey guys", she smiled at them.  
Modo smiled back. "Hey Carbine ma'am, good to see you!"  
Vinnie saluted. "Hey there, general."  
Carbine sighed. "Some things will never change", she murmured. "Stand down, snowball." Vinnie looked offended.  
"DON'T call me that!" and he crossed his arms before his chest.  
Carbine rolled her eyes, but then sighed.  
"I'm sorry for your loss, Vinnie. Didn't got the chance to to say it to you before."  
Vinnie's arms felt limp next to his body and a sad expression appeared on his face.  
"Yeah, thanks, can we go?" and he walked into the ship, his bike following. Carbine looked at Throttle and Modo.  
"That bad huh?", she asked. Throttle and Modo nodded in agreement.  
"Yep", Throttle said. "Let's go, we can talk further in the ship and back at the base."

They followed Carbine into the stalkers ship. Carbine and Throttle took place in the cockpit, Modo joined Vinnie in the back of the ship. Carbine pulled some switches and pressed a button. The ship came loose from the ground and launched into space. She pressed another button.  
"Automatic pilot is on, let's go home guys".  
Vinnie looked out of the tiny window with a heavy heart.  
"Bye Charley girl", he whispered.

After two hours, Vinnie nearly climbed the walls.  
"Oh man, this is BORING! Where is the action?" he complained as he paced through the ship. Modo looked up from the magazine he was reading.  
"Calm down, Vin. Try to sit still and read a magazine of something." He paused. "Wait, forget the last part. The day that you can find the rest to sit still and read a magazine it will be Christmas and New Year at the same time."  
"Hardee har har", Vinnie laughed sarcastically. He sighed. "I'm bored…"  
"Vinnie, shut up and sit down, and that's an order soldier!", Carbine demanded from the cockpit. Vinnie turned his back to her. "Sit down soldier", he mimicked childish and stuck out his tongue.  
"I've heard that! Now SIT!"  
Vinnie decided that it wasn't worth the trouble and sat down. Who said that space traveling was exciting? He sighed and stared out of the window.

Finally, the arrived at Mars. The loading dock opened and a white en red blur flew out.  
"AAAOOOWW, we're back and we're bad!", and with that, Vinnie drove away to blow off some steam.  
Throttle, Carbine and Modo followed at a slower pace. They were greeted by Stoker.  
"Hey rookies!" and punched Modo at his arm. Modo punched back and a wrestling session began. Throttle joined them.  
Carbine marched to the base. "Men…", she said while shaking her head.

An half hour later, Throttle, Modo, Stoker and Carbine sat in Carbine's office. They were waiting for Vinnie. They'd contacted him 15 minutes ago that they wanted him in Carbine's office, but there was still no sign of him.  
"Where is that adrenaline junkie?", Stoker asked, but as soon as he finished his sentence, Vinnie decided to make his dramatic entrance.  
"The waiting is over, Vincent van Wham, baddest mamma jammer from this side of the asteroid belt, the velocity atrocity has arrived to brighten your day!" he cheered when he slams the door behind him.  
"Well, I'm glad the velocity atrocity is finally here to join us", Carbine said with sarcasm.  
"Hey punk!", Stoker said, putting him in a headlock.  
"Hey coach, good to see you.. old man.."  
Before another wrestling session could begin, Carbine separated them.  
"Sit down you two, we need to talk."  
Everybody sat down at the table. Carbine looked in some papers.  
"Well, the reason we are here together is to talk about what happened on earth three days ago."

She looked at Vinnie to see him staring at the ceiling, hands crossed before his chest like he was the innocent himself. Maybe he thought that they all falled for his act that he was doing fine, but they didn't. She could see the pain in his eyes. He was louder then he usually was (and that was saying something) to mask his pain. But between those moments, he zoomed out, deep in thoughts and almost looking old because of his pain and grieve.  
Carbine sighted. This was not going to be an easy conversation. She quickly looked at Throttle, who was obviously thinking the same thing. He gave her a little nod with his head to encourage her.  
"Vinnie, you know we need to talk about this. I understand you don't want to, but you don't have a choice. Your actions have consequences. You've really pissed the Plutarkians off by killing Limburger."  
Vinnie snorted. "Like I give a shit about what the Plutarkians think!"  
"Well, it's your job to give a shit. To protect your planet. Your people. The attacks on Mars are heavier than ever and people are dying. Most off the mice we have in the Freedom Fighters are not strong enough to survive those attacks. That's what you've caused by killing Limburger!" Carbine slammed her fist on the desk. She had decided not to get angry, but she couldn't stand Vinnie's attitude. How Throttle could live with this stubborn mouse for all those years was a riddle to her.  
"Carbine, please stay calm", Stoker sussed. "I agree that Vinnie's actions have consequences, but let's not forget that he acted out of emotion. The loss of Charley is devastating. I think that's a mitigating circumstance."  
Throttle nodded in agreement.  
"I was there Carbine. He didn't know what he was doing. He acted out of rage. I know it's wrong what he did, but I understand why he did it. And let's not forget that Limburger is our enemy, so it's not that he killed one of us."  
Modo was about to say something, but Vinnie interrupted him.  
"Can we please not talk like I'm not in the room? I knew exactly what I was doing. Enough is enough. Limburger deserved to die. That, and earth is safe now, you're welcome by the way." His tail lashed through the air by anger.  
"Maybe Earth is safe for now, but for how long? We don't have any soldiers there now, so how can we possibly know what is going on up there?" Carbine exclaimed.  
"Well, you've decided to drag us back to Mars, so I guess that's your problem now!", Vinnie snapped.  
"Vincent, enough!", Throttle intervened. "We need to talk about this and I prefer to do that without blowing up the building. So please, try to control yourself!"  
Vinnie crossed his arms before his chest.  
"Well, then tell me what the 'consequences' are, so I can get out of here and get drunk. Or pick up a good fight, since I can't do that here.", he said to Carbine.  
"Okay, but you are NOT getting drunk of picking up fights, not under my watch. You know better then that!"  
Vinnie shaked his head. "Like you are gonna tell me what I can do with my free time." he mumbled.  
Carbine counted to ten.  
"Well, I am. Because you don't have much free time from now on. You are gonna train the newcomers. The last thing I wanna do right now is feeding your ego, but you do have really good battle skills. So it's time you gonna learn the magic to others. But this time, no battlefields, no fighting and no 'partying'. You stay on the base to train your group. When they are ready, you can take them outside. But they don't have any experience, so I think that will take a while. You are their point of contact, so you have to make sure you are there for them when they need you."

Vinnie's jaw hung open in disbelief.  
"I'm not a good babysitter and you know that! I can hardly keep myself alive, according to you"  
"This will learn you how to be patience, how to deal with your emotions and most important; how to control yourself. The groups depends on you. If you fail, they fail!"  
Vinnie was loss at words, and that didn't happen that easily. Maybe Carbine thought she was soft on him, but this… this felt like a lifelong going to jail.  
Throttle, Modo and Stoker had their doubts too. Of course, Vinnie had really good skills and those kids were going to learn it from one of the best soldiers (better not saying that out loud), but teaching? Vinnie was right, he hardly could keep himself alive.  
"Ehm, Carbine?", Throttle asked hesitantly. "Are you sure about this?"  
Carbine gave a firm nod. "Yes, I am. This is going to happen. This is the consequence for your behaviour on Earth, Vinnie. We need to make sure you are gonna learn to control yourself. To finally grow up."  
Vinnie jumped of his seat.  
"Fine!", he snapped. "Like I have a choice. But this will begin tomorrow! Tonight, I wanna enjoy my last evening off. Give me that, and I'll do what you say."  
Carbine didn't liked it, but she agreed. She needed to avoid further escalation.  
"Fine!", she snapped back. "Tomorrow you will be here at 07 in the morning to meet your group and start with the training."  
Vinnie saluted and rolled with his eyes. "Yes ma'am," and he marched out of the room. The door slammed behind him.

"Oh momma, this is going to be very interesting", Modo said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. The others could not agree more.

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Please review!


	7. Chapter 7

Next chapter! Hope you guys like it.

* * *

 **Chapter seven**

Vinnie whistled at his bike and they drove to the only bar on Mars. Inside, he was greeted by some old friends. Vinnie, still agitated from the conversation and his punishment, quickly greeted them back and sneaked to the bar. He ordered a big glass full with Martian Liquor and sat at the bar next to a young, female mouse. Vinnie looked at her from the corner of his eye. Her fur had the colour of caramel and she had long, black hair witch was tied in a messy bun. She wore a tight pants and biker boots. Above that, a big black sweater. Casual clothing, but with her curves.. really sexy. She looked at Vinnie and he saw big, green eyes, sparkling.. Vinnie swallowed. Those eyes… the same colour like Charley's. He could feel his chest tighten and he ordered another drink.  
The girl looked at him again. "Either you are really thirsty or you really need to get drunk", she said with a low, husky voice.  
Vinnie almost drowned in her eyes, but he gave himself a mental shake. Stop it, loverboy, before you have the next lady you can fail.  
"I'm just really thirsty", he said and looked away. But the presence of the girl was hard to ignore. Vinnie suddenly got an idea. He really needed a good lay, so why not? No mushy, romantic stuff, but rough sex and after that… nothing.  
"Can I buy you a drink, doll?", he asked with his most charming smile.  
It worked. It always worked. The girl smiled back. "Sure, why not?"

After an hour they were both very drunk.  
"I really need some fresh air" and the girl stumbled to the door.  
"Let me help you, sweetheart", and Vinnie hooked his arm into hers. They both made it outside, but then the girl tripped and dragged Vinnie with her in her fall. She ended on her back with Vinnie on top off her.  
"Umpf, not really comfortable", she puffed under Vinnie's weight. He pushed himself up on his elbows so the girl was able to breathe.  
"I can make this very comfortable if you want, doll", and he wiggled his eyebrows. The girl laughed, a husky sound.  
"Well, show me hot stuff."  
That was all the encouragement Vinnie needed. He pressed his lips on hers, and it ended in a very passionable kiss. They broke apart for their need for air.  
"Let's go, sweetheart", and Vinnie helped the girl on her feet. He whistled for his bike, jumped on it and wrapped his tail around the waist of the girl. He gently placed her behind him, trying very hard not to think about Charley. The bike drove them back to the base and they stumbled through the hallway to Vinnie's room.  
"We must be very quiet, because I'm not allowed to bring company without telling the general."  
The girl giggled. "You are a very naughty boy, aren't you?"  
"Oh, you don't know the half off it", and Vinnie scooped her in his arms en pressed her against the wall. He kissed her passionately and looked into her beautiful eyes. Those eyes… He pressed himself against her, his hands flying over her body.

The sudden sound of footsteps made him stop and he looked at the end of the hallway. There was Modo, with a surprised look on his face to find two mice almost making out in the middle of the hallway. But when he recognized Vinnie, he wasn't really surprised anymore. Modo smiled to himself.  
Vinnie looked at him, putting his finger before his mouth.  
"Ssshh big fella, you haven't seen us", and he dragged the girl to his room. The door shut with a loud bang.  
Modo shook his head, he couldn't help but smile over his youngest bro. He walked to the cafeteria and joined Throttle and Stoker.  
"What was all that noise?", Throttle asked curiously.  
Modo smiled again. "A drunken Vinnie with some company."  
Throttle and Stoker laughed.  
"No surprise there", Throttle said, while shaking his head.  
"That punk really has a way with the ladies, huh? Don't tell him I've said that." Stoker took a sip from his drink. "But without joking, how is he holding up?"  
Throttle sighed. "As you can see for yourself, not good. He is holding up a act, pretending that he is doing okay. But he isn't. I never saw him so upset like he was that day. Of course, he always has been hard to control, but this time, he just snapped. I did everything I could do to stop him, but it was no worth. And now he is pushing everything and everybody away, and there is nothing I can do. I can't force him to talk about how he feels."  
Stoker give him a pat on the back. "No worries Throttle, it is not your fault. Let's just hope that Vinnie comes around and stops acting like he is doing fine. But like you said, we can't force him. We'll just have to wait and see."  
Throttle and Modo agreed, knowing that they didn't have a choice. Forcing Vinnie will have the opposite effect, that was something they'd learned the hard way. They dropped the subject and talked about Mars, war and the Freedom Fighters. It was a nice and peaceful evening.. Well, at least for some of them.

Vinnie woke up at six. He slowly opened his eyes and could feel a pounding headache already. He looked around his room. His clothes were lying everywhere, furniture was moved or upside down. He stared at the scene before him and wondered if he was robbed or something. But then, it all came back. The girl with the green eyes, the hot steaming sex.  
"Whoa", Vinnie moaned. How could he possibly forget that? It was one of the best nights of his life, and that was saying something. What could he say, the ladies digged him.  
Vinnie noticed he was alone in the room. The girl already left. Good, he thought. That was gonna make things a lot easier. Just another meaningless one night stand. But a good one, he had to admit. There was something about this girl that gave him a weird feeling. Almost like he already knew her his entire life. But that was impossible. He was sure that he would remember her if he had met her before. He didn't even know her name. Well, that's probably for the best.  
Suddenly, the pain in his chest came back in full force. Charley… He squeezed his eyes. How was it possible, that four days after she died, he lay here thinking about the girl from last night?  
"Men, talk about being insensitive", he growled and he let his mind wonder to the times they had with Charley. How she helped them upgrade their bikes, or going undercover and got caught almost every time. How many times did he save her? Too many times. Vinnie smiled, thinking about how stubborn she was. Always on the front row to help in a fight, and they always trying to protect her. Oh god, he missed her so much.  
He almost fell asleep again, but then he remembered his task.  
"Ah man, fuck my life", and he dragged himself out of bed. He stumbled to the bathroom, feeling sick to his stomach. He really gotta lay of the alcohol. He looked in the mirror and flexed his muscles. By doing that, he felt something sting on his back. Vinnie turned around and saw scratch marks on his back. He stared at them.  
"Well, I'm glad she enjoyed it too. Now I have to wear a t-shirt, dammit".  
He took a quick shower and removed the bandage from his arm. The wound looked good and the stitches had survived his wild night.  
He put on his khaki pants from the Freedom Fighters and a black shirt. Over the shirt his bandoliers. He tied his bandana around his neck and put his gun in a holster on his right leg. A quick glance in the mirror learned him that he was looking good as always. He put on his boots (after a search through the room) and left his room.

Vinnie walked to the cafeteria and the smell of food made him even more nauseous. He took a bottle of water and searched the room. He saw Throttle and Modo and walked over to them.  
"Soooo, loverboy, did you sleep well?", Modo asked innocent. When Vinnie took his seat, he gave Modo a dirty look, but didn't say anything.  
Throttle smiled. "Yeah, and why are you wearing a shirt, Vin man?"  
Vinnie sighed but still said nothing. He opened his bottle water and drank it empty.  
"Aahh that's better. My head is killing me", he complained.  
"Yeah well, maybe you gotta lay off the alcohol, Vinnie", Throttle answered, pulling on Vincents ear.  
"Aautsj, easy on the merchandise Throttle!", Vinnie yelped. Modo and Throttle just laughed.  
Vinnie looked annoyed. "I get no respect here."  
Modo patted him on the back and Vinnie tried not to flinch, but failed. Modo looked at him curiously, but decided to say nothing.  
"So, bro's… what are you going to do today?", Vinnie asked.  
"We are going on a patrol, to check out an Plutarkian hideout", Throttle answered.  
"Aahh man, and I'm stuck here and miss out all the fun", Vinnie growled and slammed his fist on the table. His empty bottle bounced up and hit Modo full on the nose.  
"Oops, sorry bro", Vinnie smiled sheepishly.  
Modo glared at him and punched Vinnie on his arm. Vinnie punched back and before anyone could react to avoid it, another wrestling session started.  
Throttle tried to settle it down. "Bro's, bro's! Take it easy or take it outside!"  
Modo and Vinnie didn't listen. Carbine marched into the cafeteria.  
"MODO! VINNIE! Cut it out!", she demanded. "You guys are destroying half the building!"  
Modo and Vinnie untangled themselfs.  
"Sorry, Carbine ma'am", Modo blushed. Vinnie could only smile. He was lying on his belly and his shirt was moved in the fight. The red scratch marks on his back were very clear to see now.  
"AHA!", Modo yelled cheerful. "So that is the reason you are wearing a shirt. So it was that kind of night, huh?"  
Throttle tried to hide his smile. Vinnie jumped on his feet and pulled back his shirt with red cheeks. But before he could say anything, Carbine pulled on his tail.  
"Come on Vinnie, to my office. Your group is waiting for you."  
Vinnie followed and waved at his bro's. Throttle and Modo watched him leave the room.  
"I wonder if Carbine is gonna give him a hard time about last night", Modo wondered out loud.  
Throttle shrugged. "Who knows? Knowing Carbine, she will. Let's go, big fella."

They left the room to find the rest of the patrol group waiting in the massive garage. When everybody was on his bike, all engines started. Throttle checked if everybody was ready and gave the signal.  
"Let's rock… and ride!" and the group drove out into the desert, with a cloud of dust behind them.

* * *

Please review!


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks for the reviews!

Aaand, here is another chapter, again! Since I'm in the hospital right now, I have a lot of time to write. It's a nice thing to do to kill the time.

Let me know what you think! :)

* * *

 **Chapter eight**

Vinnie walked next to Carbine to her office. He looked desperately out of the window and saw his bro's leaving.  
"Typical", he murmured and tried to push his annoyance away. Carbine stopped in front of her office.  
"Okay Vincent. Inside are new members of the Freedom Fighters. They are all inexperienced and I want you to learn them everything you know. I know it's not a easy task for you, but please try to be serious. Their faith is in your hands."  
Vinnie rolled his eyes. "No pressure at all."  
Carbine give him a dirty look. "Oh and Vinnie? The next time you bring company in the middle of the night without letting me know, I will cut off something you really don't wanna live without", and she looked meaningful to Vinnie's pants.  
Vinnie swallowed. "Yes ma'am."  
He knew Carbine well enough to know that she didn't make false promises. He loved to provoke her, and disobeyed her to a curtant level, but even he knew when the limit was reached. This was one of those moments.

Carbine smiled to herself and walked into her office. Vinnie followed her and saw that there were four mice in the room. Two male and two female… He stopped death in his tracks. The girl with the green eyes was standing between the two male mice. Vinnie could only stand there and stare. She stared back at him, shock in her eyes. But then, a little smiled formed on her lips and she winked at him. Vinnie could feel his legs become weak.  
Carbine walked to the four mice and turned around.  
"Soldiers, meet Vin…", she stopped when she saw that Vinnie was still standing in the door opening, red cheeks and a little smile on his lips. She followed his look and saw a female mouse with a caramel colored fur and black hair. The girl was staring back at Vinnie.  
Carbine added one plus one. Oh no, he didn't… she thought.  
"Vincent! Care to join us?", she demanded.  
Vinnie shook his head and recovered himself. With a cocky grin a entered the room.  
Carbine sighed and continued.  
"This is Vinnie. He will train you to become good soldiers for the Freedom Fighters. He is very experienced, so you guys are in good hands. He is also your contact person for everything you want to know."  
The girl with the green eyes smiled a little when she heard Carbine using the word 'experienced'. Carbine saw it and decided to make clear that this behaviour was not allowed here.  
"You! Stop swooning and behave like a soldier instead of a teenager high on hormones! This is war, no high school!"  
The girl looked spooked. "Yes General!"  
"Very well. I'll leave you guys so you can introduce. After that, training begins!"  
The four mice saluted when she left the room.

Vinnie grabbed a chair and gestured to the newcomers they could take a seat too.  
"Sit down. I am way too hangover to stand up longer than two minutes."  
The four mice looked at each other and joined Vinnie at the table.  
"Well", Vinnie started, looking at the four mice before him. "I want to know what your names are, your age and fighting experience. Oh, and your bike skills, very important."  
He pointed at the mouse on his left. "You start, so tell me."  
The first mouse was called Flint. His fur was black and the guy was huge. And well built. Well, not so good as me, Vinnie thought. The black mouse was 20 years old and had fighting experience as in boxing and bar fights. He could ride a bike, but that was all.  
The second mouse was female and introduced herself as Gaya. She was 21 years old and had a tiny, slender built with light grey fur. She had no fighting experience and never rode a bike before. Vinnie stared at her.  
"You're sure you're coming from Mars?" he asked with disbelief in his voice.  
Gaya blushed. "Yes sir."  
"Okay.. next one", Vinnie said, hoping that the other two were better than the first two. But it was a small hope, because Carbine already warned him that they all were very inexperienced.  
The third mouse was with his 18 years the youngest. He had a normal built with small muscles. His fur was brown and he had a little mohawk between his ears. His name was Jake and he had no fighting experience. But he could ride a bike pretty good. Racing and stunting; he was the best. So he said.  
Vinnie rolled his eyes. Right. He looked at the fourth mouse, the one he had in his bed last night and left scratch marks on his back.  
"And what about you?", Vinnie asked, keeping his distance and making sure he didn't treat her differently. After all, it was just a one night stand, just for fun. He hoped that she felt the same way, otherwise things could get very complicated.  
If the girl was startled by his nonchalant attitude, she didn't show it.  
"Well, my name is Violet", she said in that sexy, husky voice. "I'm 19 years old and have no experience in the battlefield. I do know how to defend myself and I know how to ride a bike."  
Vinnie tried to hide his shock that he shared the bed with a 19 year old girl. Talk about a stupid move.  
"Okay soldiers. My name is Vincent van Wham, but call me Vinnie. I'm 26 years young and one of the best soldiers in the Freedom Fighters. Well, the best actually. Just came back from Earth with my bro's, Throttle and Modo. And now I'm stuck here with you guys, so you better do your best to improve and become good soldiers. The sooner this is over, the better for all of us, especially me. You really don't want to piss me off, so no whining. We start today with a workout in the gym. It's important to be in good shape, otherwise you will be dead before you even can spell battlefield. And, the ladies dig it!", he winked at Flint and Jake. They looked uncomfortable to each other. Vinnie smiled his trademark smile.  
"Okay, any questions?"  
He looked around the table, very satisfied with himself. Even he'd never done this stuff before, he nailed it. Pfff, did he doubt? He was the best after all.  
When nobody said something, he jumped off his seat.  
"Very well, let's go people."

Flint, Jake and Gaya left the room. Violet hesitated, but then asked: "Can we talk?"  
Vinnie looked down at her and walked to the door.  
"You guys go the gym, we will be right there."  
He closed the door and slowly turned around.  
"Well, this is awkward", he smiled. Violet smiled back. "Tell me about it."  
She looked him in the eye, but saw nothing from what she had seen last night. He almost had a cold look in his eyes.  
"Ehm, what about last night?", she asked. Vinnie looked at her questionly.  
"What about it?"  
Violet narrowed her eyes. "Well, about what happened? Duh."  
Vinnie sighed. "Look Violet, what happened last night, was nothing more than a so called one night stand. It was fun, but nothing more."  
Violet glared at him. "So, nothing more? You are sure about that?"  
Vinnie nodded. "Of course I'm sure about it. Definitely nothing more. This mouse is not on the market. I know that is very disappointing news for you, since you're not the first. But you have to deal with it, just like everybody else. It was nothing more than a little bit of fun." His chest tightend when he saw a hint of pain in her eyes. But he had no choice. He vowed to let nobody ever come close to him again. She deserved better (how ironic he was the one who said that). It was for her own sake. And his.  
"I see…", Violet slowly nodded. "And why are you not on the market? Do you have a girlfriend?"  
Vinnie's eyes turned cold. "That is none of your business" and he opened the door. "This talk is over. Let's go."  
Violet followed him, deep in thoughts. She was sure there was much more last night then just a little bit of fun. She had seen it in his eyes. She had felt it when they had sex. But for some reason, he kept his distance. She promised to herself that she was gonna find out what that reason is.

When they arrived at the gym, the other three mice were waiting for them.  
"Allright soldiers, let's get this show on the road." Vinnie gave them some exercises and when they were busy, his mind wandered off.  
How could he be so stupid to sleep with an 19 year old girl? And now she was in his group. So far his idea of anonymouse sex. He sighed and looked at Violet. She was beautiful and moved with the grace of a tiger. It made him think about Charley. Oh, how much he missed her. He could feel his anger flame up again and he clenched his fist.  
Why, why, why?! was all he could think. Why her? She didn't deserve any of this. Why didn't he tell her how he really felt about her? Now she's gone and he never was gonna get the chance again to tell her how much he cared about her. How much he loved her. The pain in his chest twisted again and it felt like he was getting a heart attack.  
Suddenly, he felt a hand on his arm. Vinnie looked up and saw green eyes.  
"Vinnie, are you alright?", Violet asked with a worried look on her face.  
Vinnie couldn't stop stare into those beautiful, green eyes. He suddenly felt the urge to cry. But then he realized what was happening. He shook Violet's hand of his arm.  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why are you not with the rest of the group?"  
Violet gave him one more glance and turned around. Vinnie let out his breath and tried to focus on his task.

The rest of the day went on quietly. Vinnie tested their battle skills, bike skills and physical health. Conclusion was that there was a lot of work to do.  
When it was diner time, Vinnie dismissed his group.  
He walked to the cafeteria and saw Modo and Throttle sitting by a table in the corner. Vinnie grabbed some food and joined them.  
"Hey bro's, how is it hanging?"  
Modo and Throttle greeted him back.  
"So, how was the patrol?", Vinnie asked while stuffing some food in his mouth. "Did you miss me?"  
Throttle rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like the flu", he joked.  
Modo snickered. "Patrol went fine. That stinkfish didn't see us and we explored the area. Tomorrow we will attack them. They don't know what is coming to them."  
Vinnie whined. "Ahhh man, I miss out on everything."  
Modo and Throttle patted him on the back.  
"How is your group, Vin man?", Throttle asked.  
"Terrible. They suck on everything. I'm stuck here forever, fading away without any action. It's boring!" Vinnie stuffed more food in his mouth.  
"It can't be that bad, right? When they improve, you can take them outside." Throttle tried to cheer Vinnie up.  
"Yeah, like that's ever gonna happen", Vinnie complained.

Throttle took a closer look at Vinnie's face. Something was not right. He knew they all agreed to wait until Vinnie was gonna talk out of himself, but he couldn't stop himself.  
"Are you okay, Vinnie? After everything that happened?", he asked with a worried look.  
"I'm FINE Throttle, how many times do I need to tell you that? It takes a lot more to take the Vin man down", Vinnie said with a arrogant look on his face, but his ears drooped a little, revealing that he was everything but okay.  
Throttle sighed. "You know you can talk to us, Vincent. We are your bro's, your family."  
Modo agreed. "Yeah little bro, there is nothing you have to be ashamed of. We all are sad because we've lost Charley."  
When Vinnie heard her name, he gritted his teeth.  
"There is nothing to talk about!", he snapped.  
Throttle decided to push him a little bit further.  
"That is not true Vinnie and you know that. It's not healthy to keep everything inside. When are you going to understand that there is nothing wrong with showing your emotions? It's not gonna make you less macho, if that's what you think!"  
Vinnie slammed his fist on the table and jumped of his seat.  
"ENOUGH! I LOVED her, you know!? And now she is GONE, and I didn't even tell her how much she meant to me. And on top of it, she died.." Vinnie's voice broke, but he recovered himself. "She died because I failed on her! It's my fault, alright?!"  
He couldn't breathe. The lack of oxygen made him feel dizzy.  
Throttle held both hands before his body. "Vinnie calm down, before you give yourself a heart attack. We know, alright? We know that you loved her. And she knew too. And let me tell you something; she loved you too. And..!" Throttle pointed a finger to Vinnie. "It was not your fault she died, Vincent."  
The whole cafeteria was fallen silent while Vinnie's outburst and everybody stared at them.  
Vinnie slowly walked backwards, shaking his head. "I can't do this, not now, not ever." and he turned around and stormed out.

It remained silent for a few moments, but then everybody started whispering to each other. Throttle kicked hard against Vinnie's empty chair.  
"God dammit, that stupid, macho, egotistical and stubborn mouse!" he growled out of frustration.  
Modo agreed. "Do we need to go after him?" he asked.  
Throttle shook his head. "No, better let him calm down."  
Modo sighed. "We shouldn't have provoked him like that.."  
"Maybe not. But now we know a little of what is going on in that stupid head of his". Throttle took a few breaths to calm down.

They didn't saw Violet sneak out of the cafeteria right after Vinnie. She had sat in the cafeteria while Vinnie's outburst. She had seen how tense he'd left the room. She didn't quite understand what was going on, but she had a pretty good idea. He had lost someone he loved and blamed himself. That explained his self destructive and distant attitude. Violet knew he wanted to be alone, but she couldn't resist him. She never had the feeling he gave her. Last night was incredible. Violet felt tingles in her belly when she thought about it. He was rough, but gentle at the same time. And indeed, very experienced. She smiled to herself. She would do everything to make him hers.

* * *

Please review!


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks for the reviews. This story is mainly about Vinnie, since he's my fav. But maybe there will be some more romance between Throttle and Carbine, but I can't promise anything, I'm sorry. I hope you still will enjoy the story.

* * *

 **Chapter nine**

Vinnie sped through the night. He felt so angry, so frustrated, so… helpless. He grabbed his handlebars tightly. He hoped that a good, fast ride will clear his head. With full speed, he drove to a cliff, pulled his handlebars and jumped over the edge.  
"AAAOOWW, the only way to fly!" and after performing an perfect somersault, he landed on the ground.  
"I'm still the best, and don't you just hate me for it?", he grinned. The adrenaline from the jump took over his body. It chased away the pain. He drove between two canyons, using every stone and cliff to pull some dangerous stunts. Of course, he nailed them all. After all, he was still the baddest mamma jammer from Mars.

After about an hour, Vinnie drove inside the big garage at the base. He felt reborn, like a new person. With the adrenaline still running through his body, he parked his bike and patted her on the side. "Thanks sweetheart", he said and his bike beeped back happily.  
"Blowing off some steam, hotshot?"  
Vinnie turned around so quickly by hearing the sudden voice, he almost fell over.  
"Holy mothers of Mars, you almost give me a heart attack!", Vinnie breathed, holding his chest. Violet smiled and walked over to him. Vinnie looked at her with distrust on his face.  
"What are you doing here?"  
"Waiting for you. You were very upset when you left the cafeteria."  
Vinnie's face got blank and he tried to walk past her to the door. Violet blocked his way.  
"Are you okay, Vinnie?", she asked, loving how his name rolled over her tongue.  
Vinnie looked at her darkly, feeling very annoyed that everybody on this base just keeps asking if he was doing fine. Geez, can't they just leave him alone?  
"Leave me alone, I'm fine! And if I wasn't, you're not the person I would talk to." He did another try to get to the door. Again, Violet blocked his way.  
"You are not fine. I've heard your conversation with your friend, actually, everybody heard that. I wanna help you…" Violet reached out to his face, but before she could touch him, Vinnie grabbed her arm.  
"I don't need your help. I've already told you, it's none of your business."  
He pushed her out of his way and walked to the door.  
"The only reason you are pushing me away is because that deep down in that stubborn head of yours, I do mean something to you!", Violet yelled at his back, feeling a little humiliated by his rejection.  
Vinnie was about the grab the doorknob, but froze when he heard her say these words. Damn, am I really that obvious?, he thought. Time for a little more drastic measures. He slowly turned around with a cold look on his face.  
"Now you listen carefully. You mean shit to me. The only thing that is not getting in that stubborn head of yours...," he pointed at her "is that I've used you. I've used you for seks to blow off some steam and it meant nothing to me. The only thing you are good for is to spread your legs, you've got that?"  
Violet stared at him. His words were cutting like a knife. It brought back memories she was so carefully trying to forget. The image of her father's face flashed before her eyes. "You're nothing more than a slut!"  
She closed her eyes, a tear escaped through her lashes. Then anger overruled her sorrow. She opened her eyes, only to see that Vinnie was gone.  
"That asshole..", she whispered. Deep down she still knew he was lying, but still… the things he said hurted.  
Violet leaned against the wall and slided down. She sat on the ground with her back against the wall, embracing her legs. She felt so sad. This was a mistake. Everything was a mistake. She shouldn't have come here.

When she heard the door open again, she looked up hopefully, expecting to see Vinnie. Instead she saw a huge, grey mouse. He wore an eye pad and his right arm looked like it was made from some kind of metal. Although his size was very intimidating, he had a gentle look on his face.  
"Oh, I'm sorry ma'am, didn't see you there!", he said when he saw her.  
Violet smiled. Ma'am? She couldn't remember anybody calling her that.  
"It's okay", she answered when she climbed back on her feet. "I was just leaving."  
The grey furred giant studied her face. "Don't I know you from something?"  
She suddenly realized that this was the mouse she saw in the hallway last night. "Great", she muttered under her breath. Like this day couldn't get any worse.  
"Not that I know off", Violet said, thinkin that a little lie never hurted anyone. The grey mouse offered his hand. "I'm Modo."  
Violet hesitated, but then shook his hand. "I'm Violet."  
Modo smiled at her. "Nice to meet you, Violet ma'am!"  
Violet couldn't help but giggle. "Please don't call me ma'am, I'm 19 years old."  
Modo was startled. He had recognized her as the female mouse Vinnie had dragged to his room last night. 19 years old? Modo couldn't believe his ears. Note to myself, smack Vinnie on the head the next time you see him. He quickly recovered himself.  
"Are you alright, Violet? You look a little sad."  
Violet looked at Modo. She normally didn't trust other people. The one night stand with Vinnie was something she didn't do before. It was so not like her.  
When she looked Modo in the eyes, she felt she could trust him. He gave her a safe feeling, almost the same feeling her dad gave her before… she stopped herself.  
She realized that she didn't answer Modo's question and that he was waiting patiently.  
"Ehm, yeah, I'm fine I guess.."  
Modo snickered. "That didn't sound very convincing." He patted her on the arm.  
"It's none of my business. If you don't want to talk about it, that's okay. I just came here to check on my bike." and he walked to Little Hoss, which was parked next to Vinnie's bike. Modo's bike beeped when he stood next to her. "Hey there, little darling," and he patted her on one of the handlebars. Violet watched the interaction between rider and bike with interest. Modo saw her looking and waved to her.  
"Come here and meet Little Hoss."  
Violet walked over to him, feeling a little insecure. She knew how to ride a bike, but she never talked to one.  
"Ehm… Hi?", she said, feeling a little stupid. The bike beeped back and Modo smiled.  
Violet laughed and touched the bike. "I've never talked to a bike before."  
Modo almost looked offended. "Oh momma, how is that possible? It's very important to have a good relationship with your bike. After all, you must be a good team on the battlefield. You've never learned that?"  
Violet shook her head. "We didn't have bikes with this technologie. The bikes we had were just.. bikes.."  
Modo nodded. "You don't have your own bike?"  
"No, I ride on one of the bikes from the base."

There was a silence for a moment, but it didn't feel awkward. Violet looked at the bike next to Modo's. She recognized it as Vinnie's bike. It was a beautiful bike, designed for speed. Modo followed her look. "That's Vinnie's bike, but I have the feeling you already knew that."  
Violet stayed in silent for a moment. Of course, Modo was no fool. She knew he had recognized her from last night.  
"Did he hurt you?", Modo asked, with a worried look on his face.  
"No… yes… well, not physically…" she stuttered. The tears came very unexpected. Modo took her hand. "What happened, Violet ma'am?"  
"He… we had a really good night, you know?" Modo's face sturred a little, but he nodded to encourage her.  
"I really had the feeling that it was more than just a one night stand, but now… now he is acting like a jerk, saying he used me and stuff…", Violet sniffed.  
That sounds like Vinnie alright, Modo thought. He gently grabbed Violet by the shoulders.  
"Listen Violet. I can't explain Vinnie's behaviour, because that's not my place. I do can tell you that he is not a bad guy. He is in pain. That doesn't make right what he said, but I'm sure he didn't mean it. I think it's for the best to leave him alone for now. Give him some time."  
Violet nodded, drying her face off with her sleeve. "Thanks Modo." Modo took her in his arms and gave her a hug. He vowed to himself that he would talk to Vinnie about how to treat a lady, his eye glowing red.

Modo marched back to the cafeteria, but he only saw Throttle and Carbine, whispering to each other, tails entwined.  
"Sorry to bother you, but have you guys seen Vinnie?", Modo asked.  
Throttle shook his head. "Nope. Why? You look angry?"  
"I just need to talk to him about something", Modo answered and he walked away to Vinnie's room. Without knocking, he bursted inside.

Vinnie was lying on his bed on his belly, with a pillow over his head. When Modo entered the room, Vinnie looked up from under his pillow. When he saw the angry look on Modo's face, he jumped up and held his hands before his body.  
"Whoa, big fella! Whatever you think I've done, it wasn't me!" and he tried to keep his distance. Even he never taunted Modo's anger. That was like a suicide mission.  
Modo marched to the white mouse and pointed his finger at his face, almost touching Vinnie's nose.  
"Oh is that so? I've just talked to a very upset, YOUNG, female mouse, named Violet. Does that ring any bells?"  
Vinnie laughed nervously. "Oh… that… yeah… I just told her to stay away from me. She is stalking me, man! Not that I can blame her", he finished with a arrogant smile. Modo fighted the urge to smack Vinnie in the face. But, since there seemed to be only one adult in this room, he must act like it.  
"You can't just share the bed with somebody and telling after that you've used her. You can't expect they feel the same way like you. Some people do fall in love, you know!" It felt like he was talking to a child. Vinnie started to look annoyed.  
"I know that Modo, I'm not that stupid!" Modo snorted. Vinnie glared at him and continued.  
"I don't do love. Not anymore. I've tried to tell her that, but she refused to listen. So I took some… drastic measures.." Vinnie gave a frustrated sigh.  
"So you just tell her that she's a slut!?", Modo asked, with disbelief on his face.  
"No, I didn't! Well… not with those words…" Vinnie looked nervous at Modo.  
"Well, I want you to apologize at her. Nobody is treaten a lady like this when I'm around!" Modo pointed at the door. "GO!"  
"But Modo, I…" Vinnie protested, but Modo interrupted him."No buts. Go!"  
Vinnie sighed and left his room, softly cursing to himself.

He searched for Violet and found her on the balcony on the back of the base. It had a beautiful view over the desert and the stars. Violet sat on a chair and was staring in the distance, deep in thoughts. She didn't respond when Vinnie took place in the chair next to her. Vinnie cleared his throat. Violet, startled by the sudden noise, almost jumped out of her chair.  
"Jeeezz Vinnie, you scared the death out of me!" Vinnie smiled. "Guess we're even then." Violet, recovered from her shock, gave him an angry glare.  
"What are you doing here? If you came to tell me again that I mean shit to you, that's not necessary. Your last message was loud and clear!"  
Vinnie looked uncomfortable. He wasn't good at this stuff. Smooth talk to get in a lady's head (and in his bed), no problemo. But this feeling stuff? Ugh…  
"Ehm… well… I just wanted to say…", he stuttered. Smooth Vincent, smooth.  
Violet shook her head, but said nothing. It was kind of funny (and cute) to see him struggle, his bravado nowhere to be found. She decided to let him work for it. Vinnie fiddled with his bandoliers. "Look sweetheart, I shouldn't have said those things. But you left me no choice."  
Violet threw her head in her neck and laughed. "So it's my fault now?" Vinnie looked surprised by her reaction, then narrowed his eyes.  
"Well, I've tried to make clear that I don't do love, but you didn't listen. So I thought…"  
"You thought: let's break her heart, so I can move on with my life? Like nothing happened?", Violet interrupted him.  
"Yeah, well…", Vinnie sighed. This was not going very well.  
Violet shook her head. "You're unbelievable."

Vinnie felt the sudden urge to run away, but realized the other option was to face an angry Modo. So, he took a deep breath.  
"I'm sorry, okay?", he blurted out. Violet turned her head to look at him. He had a little blush on his cheeks that was visible under his white fur and looked very unhappy. Poor Vinnie.  
"I didn't mean to hurt you, but…", Vinnie couldn't find the words. He didn't want to talk about Charley. Violet saw him struggling and believed he learned his lesson now. She gently took his hand.  
"You know you can talk to me, right? But only when you are ready. I know you are in pain. And if you really, really don't give a shit about me, then this is your chance to tell me one more time and if you do... I will leave you alone."  
Vinnie looked at her from the corners of his eye. He only needed to say once more that she must leave him alone. But he couldn't. As much as he tried to run from it, he couldn't ignore the feeling that he needed her. He played with her fingers.  
"I… I can't…But I need some time. I can't talk about it right now. It hurts too much…" Violet nodded understanding, feeling a little tingle in her belly.  
"That's okay, Vinnie, whenever you are ready. I'll be waiting. I know we hardly know each other, but… you give me a feeling I've never felt before. Almost like we already know each other our entire life. I don't wanna ignore that. It must mean something. But I don't want to be that pushy girl."  
Vinnie's heart lighted up by hearing those words. He was having the same feeling about her. But it was so confusing at the same time. His heart belonged to Charley. This all came too soon. He sighed, couldn't find the words.  
"We'll see where this goes, alright? No pressure. Let's find out what time will bring us." Violet gave him a small kiss on his cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow", and she walked back inside, leaving Vinnie with his thoughts.

Vinnie looked up at the sky and saw the small dot that was Earth. Oh man, what a mess. Everything was happening so fast, something he normally didn't have a problem with. But now, things were going too fast, even for him. He felt so frustrated, still didn't have any clue what to do with all this emotions. Blugh… Life would be so much easier without it…

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Please review! :)


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks for the reviews! It really motivates me to keep writing. I've got a lot of plans for this story, there will be more action soon.  
But of course, combined with the story about Vinnie and Violet. Hope you guys stay with me and keep giving me your opinion.

So, this chapter is a little bit shorter than usual, that's because it's kinda of a 'in between' chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter ten**

The next few weeks, nothing really special happened. Vinnie was busy with training his group and surprise, surprise… they improved really fast. Vinnie gave it a few days until they were ready to join the patrol group.  
Gaya, who never rode a bike before, showed that with determination you can achieve everything. She practised every free moment of the day beside the training and with Vinnie's help, she became a very good rider.  
Jake was indeed a very good racer and stunter. Vinnie never said it though, no need to blow up the boy's ego. His fight skills improved fast, he was a fast learner, and also very smart. He was very good with computers and stuff.

Flint was at the start the most experienced. But he was stubborn and couldn't handle authority very well, especially when it came from Vinnie. So, after a few fights, Vinnie dismissed him from the group because of Flint's lack of respect and handled him over to Carbine. Unfortunately for Flint, he was now stuck at the base, not allowed to go with the rest of the group when they were ready. Vinnie didn't care. He hated the guy and they couldn't be in one room together, let alone work together on a battlefield.

And Violet? She was good at everything, eager to learn and improve. Well, almost everything. When it came to shooting practice, there appeared to be a problem. Everytime she tried to fire a gun, she froze. Vinnie was trying to figure out why, but she refused to talk about it. It seemed to be a result from a trauma, because she freezes and have some sort of panic attack. Vinnie was the only one who could calm her down when this happened. He was determined to find out what the reason for this behaviour was, because freezing on a battlefield never ended well.

Modo and Throttle did a lot of patrols and attacks on the Plutarkians. They didn't say it out loud, but they missed their cheerful bro in the battlefield. It just wasn't the same without him. But by the looks of things, he soon would join them again. The spare free time they had, they spend together.

Vinnie looked almost back to his usual, cheery self. But there were rare moments he suddenly exploded again. But most of the time he was the happy note of the three. Throttle and Modo knew that he was everything but alright. They never asked again how he was feeling, but they were keeping an eye on him. When the time was right, they were there for him.

The relationship between Vinnie and Violet didn't chance. They were friends, but nothing more happened. Violet still wanted more, but she promised that she will give him time.

Vinnie still didn't talk about his feelings. He even never mentioned Charley's name again. It was almost like she never had existed. But everybody knew better. Vinnie was still in silent pain.

Vinnie walked out of Carbine's office after giving her an update about his group. Carbine gave the green light that they could join the patrol group tomorrow. He felt satisfied that he, the one with the less self control, achieved to train this group so well. Carbine even gave him a compliment, albeit with a frown on her face. Vinnie smiled, knowing how she hated it to say something nice to him, to boost his ego.  
He walked to the training dock and saw Gaya and Violet practising their fighting skills. Jake was sitting on the side, doing something on his little hand computer.  
Vinnie whistled. "Yo guys, come over here!" The group stopped with what they were doing and walked over to Vinnie.  
"I just had a little conversation with General Carbine, and I've got some good news. Tomorrow is the day! You guys can join the patrol group. When everything is going well, maybe we can go with the next attack. I'm sure am, because I have so much adrenaline in my system, I'll probably explode if I'll wait much longer. Are you guys up to it?"  
Gaya and Jake nodded, looking happy to take their training to the next level. Time for the real work. Violet looked a little hesitant. Vinne looked at her.  
"Let's talk Vi. Gaya and Jake, resume your training." Vinnie took Violet with him to an empty office.  
"So, tell me", Vinnie said when they sat at the table. "What is holding you back, sweetheart?"  
Violet sighed and looked out of the window, trying very hard to avoid to look Vinnie in the eye. She didn't know what to say. That she was scared? That she didn't know if she could do it? What will happen if they will be attacked during patrol and she even couldn't fire a gun?  
Vinnie looked at her with worry in his eyes, but felt the same uncomfortable feeling. He was so not good at this. This was something Throttle would handle, not him. Heck, he blows up stuff when he was upset, not the best example for a good talk about emotions. But he knew he had to try. Otherwise, Violet could get hurt, or something worse. He took a deep breath.  
"Violet, please. Tell me what is on your mind?"  
Violet played with a pen on the table. "I'm scared…", she said, so softly Vinnie almost missed it. He gently took her hand, surprised at his own behaviour.  
"It's okay to be scared. You're not the first and definitely not the last."  
Violet nodded. "What if…" She trailed off, looking at her hand in Vinnie's. She swallowed. "What if I must fire a gun and freeze again?", she whispered.  
Vinnie had to ask. "Why are you freezing?"  
Violet shook her head, overwhelmed by emotions. A flash of a memory of her holding a gun, ready to pull the trigger, pointed at someone she thought she could trust with her life, she deeply loved. And then, pulling the trigger, the backlash, blood… so much blood… She jumped at her feet abruptly and stormed out of the room.

Vinnie stayed behind, a little perplexed. Guess we all have our demons, he thought sadly. He immediately saw the image of Charley. He sighed. The pain in his chest was still there, everyday when he woke up, it was the first thing he felt. Will it ever going to be better? Probably not.  
He pushed his pain away, thinking about Violet. He couldn't let her join the patrol tomorrow if she was unable to fire a gun. That would be a big mistake. He had no choice to inform Carbine about his decision. Until Violet was ready to talk about her problems, she must remain on the base. Vinnie knew that this was the best option, the safest. Violet will understand. Right?

He walked to Carbine's office and without knocking, he opened the door. What he saw made him stop. Throttle and Carbine, pulling hasty some clothes on with red cheeks.  
"Tjeez Vinnie, ever heard of knocking?!", Carbine yelled, putting back her shirt on. Vinnie just stood there, and didn't know wether to laugh or to puke. It kinda felt walking in on his parents or something. But the looks on their faces was pure gold.  
Throttle quickly zipped his pants, shaking his head. Oh man, he was never going to hear the end of this.  
"What do you want?!", Carbine asked with a high tone in her voice.  
Vinnie cleared his throat. "Ehm.. yeah.. I wanted to tell you that Violet can't come with the patrol tomorrow. Like I've told you in our last conversation, she freezes when she have to fire a gun. I've thought about it, and this is the best option in my humble opinion", Vinnie explained, unusual serious.  
Carbine stared at him, still a little off because she was busted with Throttle. By Vinnie. Could this day get any worse?  
"Oh. Yeah, I remember you've said that. Do you know why she freezes?", she asked.  
Vinnie shrugged. "I've tried to find out, but everytime I ask, she gets upset and runs away."  
Throttle gave an humorless laugh. "That sounds oddly familiar." Vinnie glared at him, but said nothing. He didn't had the strength for another interrogation from Throttle about his feelings.  
"Anyway, I've decided she must stay at the base until we can solve her problem. It's not safe for her otherwise", Vinnie said.  
Carbine smiled. "That's unusual thoughtful off you. Maybe you are finally growing up."  
Vinnie stuck out his tongue. "Don't get your hopes up, babe. But it seems you guys know everything about it.. maybe you can teach me?", and he wiggled his eyebrows.  
Carbine growled. "Get out!"  
Vinnie winked at her and quickly left the room, loud laughing.

Carbine and Throttle looked at each other and smiled. Throttle took her hand.  
"You can't change him, Carbine. I hope you know that."  
Carbine nodded. "I know. But you can't blame me for trying."  
Throttle kissed her. "Now, where were we?", and without letting her go, he locked the door.

* * *

Please review! :)


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks for the reviews!  
Here is another chapter, it's also a bit on the short side. Hope you guys still enjoy it!

* * *

 **Chapter eleven**

Violet was sitting on her favourite spot on the balcony. She was staring in the distance, deep in thoughts. She suddenly felt someone taking place next to her. She looked up and saw Vinnie sitting next to her, looking at her. Talk about a deja vu.  
"Hey you", Violet said with a sad smile.  
Vinnie gave her a little smile back. "Hey yourself." He swallowed.  
"Listen Vi, I've talked to Carbine and we've decided you can't come on a mission as long as you can't fire a gun. I'm really sorry, but it's too dangerous."

Violet eyes filled with tears. No, no, no, please don't cry, Vinnie thought. He was so not good in handling crying women. He patted Violet on the back, a little unhandy. Violet took a deep breath. "I understand", she said with an unsteady voice.  
Vinnie glanced at her and stared at his hands. "When you are ready to talk, let me know. Maybe then we can try to solve this problem. Until then, you stay at the base." Violet said nothing, clearly struggling with herself.  
Vinnie didn't know what to say to make her feel better. He stood up and walked to the door. Violet suddenly started talking.

"I grew up in a loving family", she began, and Vinnie sat down again.  
"My parents loved each other very much, they were soulmates. I was their only child, so I was everything to them. You can imagine how spoiled I was." She smiled, but it vanished quickly. Vinnie took her hand, didn't say anything. He felt he just needed to let her talk. Sometimes listening was better than talking. What a wise words, where did he come up with that?  
"Everything was perfect. Until the war started. My father was called in by the army. He was a very soft and gentle person, violence didn't exist in his world. And now he was forced to fight this horrible war, seeing all those terrible things. It destroyed him." Violet stared at the sky. Vinnie gave a little squeeze in her hand. "That must have been very hard."  
Violet shook her head. "You have no idea. When he came back from his last mission, he was a different person. He was extremely paranoid and saw danger in every corner. He was convinced that my mother was working for the Plutarkians. That she was trying to kill him. My mother tried everything to convince him otherwise, but he refused to listen to her."  
Violet sighed and prepared herself to tell the next part. Vinnie waited patiently, something he didn't know he had it in him. After a few minutes, Violet continued.  
"One night, he came home late. He had been drinking the whole night, to ease his pain. But the alcohol only made his problems worse. I heard my parents fight, my father screaming at my mother that she was a traitor. My mother crying, trying to get this idea out of his head. And then… a gunshot…" Violet's voice broke and tears were streaming down over her face.  
"I… I took the gun my mother had hidden in her closet. She had it just in case, to protect us if the Plutarkians came. I sneaked downstairs, to the living room, and saw my father pacing around the room and my… my mother… he'd killed her... "

Vinnie swallowed, feeling sorry for Violet and feeling his own pain. He embraced her in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry sweetheart", he whispered in her ear.  
Violet buried her face in Vinnie's chest, crying the eyes out of her head. She never had allowed herself to grieve, to be so vulnerable. But somewhere, it gave a little relief. She trusted Vinnie. When the worst tears were gone, she continued.

"My father saw me, standing in the door opening with a gun in my hand. He used to call me little princess, before the war. Told me stories to get me to sleep. Helped me with my homework. He was that kind of dad, he was everything to me. But it was like he didn't remember all that anymore. Instead of princess, he called me a slut. I don't know why, maybe he was convinced that I've slept with everybody that came in my sight, but that was not true. We've tried to understand it, my mother and I, but there was nothing to understand. Nothing made sense in my father's head anymore. He had literally lost his mind."  
Violet stared at Vinnie's bandoliers.  
"When my father saw me, he pointed the gun at me. 'You're nothing but a slut', he said to me. I pointed my gun at him, begging him to stop. To come back. To be my father again. But didn't work. It had the opposite effect. He went ballistic, totally lost it. I…" Violet swallowed. "I shot him. I didn't have a choice. He was going to kill me."

Vinnie's heart broke when he heard her say these words. He also felt anger. That fucking war. It was destroying everything.  
"There… there was so much blood. What happened after that, I can't remember. I was in shock. Apparently, my neighbour took me in. I've stayed there, to 'recover'." Violet said the last part sarcastically. "Like you ever recover from something like this. After the first shock was gone, the anger came. And here I am. Determined to kill the Plutarkians, who took away everything I loved. But apparently, I can't. I'm weak…"

Vinnie lifted her head up with his finger and looked into her beautiful, green eyes.  
"You are not weak, Violet. You are very strong, not everybody who goes through all that survives. But you did not only survive, you want to fight back. You didn't gave up. I admire that", he said firmly.  
Violet looked back into his ruby red eyes. She saw pain and guilt but also determination. "Thank you, Vinnie."  
In a impuls, Vinnie pressed his lips against hers. Violet took a deep breath, but after a little hesitation, she kissed him back. It felt like coming home.  
Suddenly, Vinnie's head became clear. He broke off the kiss. "I… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." Every time he gave in, he saw Charley and he remembered his promise. He couldn't make the same mistake again. NO LOVE, remember?! Dammit.  
Violet took his hand. "Why are you fighting me, Vinnie?"  
Vinnie closed his eyes, his chest tightened. So much grieve. So much guilt. So much sadness. It was all stuck inside him. He couldn't open up, not even to Violet. He refused to be vulnerable. And if that will cost him his relationship with Violet, so be it. It was his plan all along. Be alone the rest of your life. He shook his head.  
"I can't do this, I'm sorry. Thanks for sharing your story, thanks for the trust. It's not that I don't trust you, but I… I can't tell you my story. I just can't. We will practice further with your shooting after the patrol tomorrow, okay?", he said with a voice thick of emotion.  
He almost ran inside, leaving Violet behind, who was loss at words.

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Please review! :)


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks again for the reviews, really appreciate it!

* * *

 **Chapter twelve**

The next day, everybody was gathered in the garage. The patrol group counted ten mice, with Throttle as their leader. Modo and Vinnie stood next to him, and Vinnie gave Jake and Gaya some last advice. Violet was nowhere to be seen. Vinnie was still a little upset from their talk last night, but needed to focus on his task. He had decided to look for her after the patrol. The rest of the group was waiting patiently for instructions. When Vinnie was ready, Throttle took the word.  
"Okay soldiers. We are going to check out an Plutarkian hideout nearby Brimstone. Word is that they have prisoners, people who belong to us, who deserve to ride free. Today we are going to explore the surrounding, the building and the security. We need this info to plan an effective attack. I know some of us rather go in without thinking and blow up everything in sight…", he looked at Vinnie, who was looking at the ceiling with an innocent look on his face."But the chance of success is bigger when we are prepared. There are innocent life's on the line here. That means: no shooting, no fighting and no rockets!"  
"Ahh man…", Vinnie muttered under his breath.  
Throttle ignored him and continued.  
"If the Plutarkians spot us, than you have permission to fight back. But try to spare the building. There are already too many innocent victims in this war. Are there any questions?", he asked when he was looking around the group. Gaya and Jake looked nervous, but determined. When nobody said something, Throttle nodded.  
"Alright, then I think it's time for us to rock… and ride!"

Everybody in the garage jumped at their bikes and drove out with Throttle, Modo and Vinnie in the front.  
Vinnie, super excited to finally be reunited with his bro's, fired his jets and flew into the air.  
"AAAOOWW, finally back on track!" and he landed between his bro's. Throttle and Modo couldn't help but smile.  
"Never thought I would say this, but I kinda missed ya, Vinnie", Modo said and Throttle agreed.  
"Ah, thanks bro's! I've missed you guys too!", Vinnie said happily, but then realized what he was saying and quickly added: "In a macho kinda way, of course."  
"Of course", Throttle said, shaking his head, but feeling joy that their cheerful bro was back. They drove through the desert and arrived at the hideout without any problems. Throttle leaded the group to a rock formation close by and signed to gather around him.  
"Let's split up. You five," he pointed at the 5 mice on his right. "You guys check out the surroundings. Look out for possible traps and escape routes." The soldiers saluted and left. Throttle, Modo, Vinnie, Gaya and Jake climbed of their bikes and sneaked as close to the building as possible. It was a huge building, bigger then they'd expected. Security was high, with cameras all over the place, lasers attached at the building and it was surrounded by a big, high fence with nasty looking points on top off it. Guards were walking around, protecting every door, heavily armed.

Throttle frowned, looking at all this. Even for the Plutarkians, this was a little overrated. Why was this place so secured? What were they hiding?  
Vinnie was almost bouncing on his bike, seeing almost a thousand opportunities to trash this place. "Ah man, what am I gonna do with all this adrenaline? This place has so much to offer!"  
Throttle signed him to shut up. "You know better Vincent. We can't just burst in and blow everything up. We need a really good plan before we attack. But what are they hiding here?", he wondered out loud.  
Jake hesitated, but then cleared his throat. "It looks like everything is controlled by computers. I could try to hack their server and maybe we find some information that could help us."  
Throttle looked surprised. "You can do that, kid?"  
Vinnie nodded. "That kid is an computer whiz. Boring if you ask me, but handy. I'll say: let's give it a try."  
Modo agreed. "For once I agree with Vinnie."  
Throttle thought about it. "And you are sure you can do that without alerting them?"  
Jake shook his head. "Can't promise you that, but of course I will try."  
Vinnie cracked his knuckles. "Well, and if they find out we are here, it's finally tail whippin' time!"  
Throttle made his decision. "Okay, let's do this. Modo, Vinnie, go stand on both sides off the building to keep an eye out. Gaya, you stay here and watch this side off the building. Jake, go ahead.", he ordered.

Modo and Vinnie followed his orders and found a place for look out. Jake took his hand computer and began. Throttle looked around, feeling a little… nervous? He couldn't help getting the feeling there was something really wrong with this place. His gaze fell on Gaya, who was also looking really nervous. He couldn't blame her. This place was definitely not the easiest start for a first patrol.  
"You okay Gaya?", Throttle asked. Gaya nodded with determination.  
"Yes sir!"  
Throttle felt admire for the small built mouse. She was a fighter, no doubt about that.  
Jake was busy typing on his computer, his tongue between his buck teeth in concentration. After a few minutes that felt like hours, he suddenly yelled: "YES!"  
Throttle almost jumped out of his fur, but quickly recovered . "What?"  
Jake grinned. "I'm in. Now, let's see…" He looked through the documents. "It looks like this place is some kind of prison, with a lot of prisoners. They use them for experiments…" His face darkened. He found reports about experiments that were done, and by the looks off things, it was very disturbing.  
"Ehm, I don't have the time to read all this, but it looks like they are creating something." He typed something. "I just need to download this file…" He waited till the download was 100%, but then a red skull appeared in his screen. "Uh oh…"

Throttle was about to ask what was wrong, when suddenly the sound off a siren split the air. The doors from the building opened and an army of Plutarkians came out and started shooting. Jake quickly picked up his computer and ran to his bike. Throttle shouted in his helmet radio: "Retreat! Back to base!" and followed Jake to the bikes.  
"Ah man, Biker Mice do not run!", Vinnie shouted back.  
"NOW, Vincent! We are outnumbered. We'll be back!"  
Vinnie cursed in Martian, but followed instructions. He whistled at his bike and Modo did the same. They fled into the desert and reunited with the rest of the group. They rode back to base, but didn't see they were followed.  
Suddenly, a rocket exploded next to Gaya and another mouse. Gaya flew off her bike and landed hard on the ground. The other mouse couldn't do anything to avoid it and fell in the burning crater. He was lost.  
"NO! Vinnie, take them out! Modo! Grab Gaya!", Throttle ordered.

Vinnie whooped, despite the situation. "AAAOOWW, now we're talking!" and he turned his bike towards the enemy. It were two buggies with each an Plutarkian in it. Vinnie revved his bike and the cannon's popped out.  
"Playtime boys!", he cheered and fired two rockets. They exploded between the two buggies and one of them lost control. He zigzagged helplessly towards Vinnie, who was prepared. Vinnie clenched his fist and punched the Plutarkian right in the face. Because of the force of the blow, the poor fish flew out his buggy and landed meters away. He didn't stand up.  
"AAAOOWW, that's what you get when you're messing with the wrong mouse!" Vinnie turned his attention to the other Plutarkian. He drove straight to him with dangerous speed. The Plutarkian did the same, determined to destroy that rodent who trashed his friend. Like he even stood a chance. When Vinnie was close enough, he hit the brakes and turned the back of his bike. The buggie slammed into Vinnie's tire and the Plutarkian flew out and crashed against a rock.  
"Little word of advice: always wear your seatbelt!" Vinnie popped a wheelie and drove back to the group. Modo had grabbed Gaya, who was unconscious, and gently put her before him on his bike. Vinnie pushed a button and a rope flew out the back of his bike to grab Gaya's bike.  
Throttle whistled. "Let's ride!"

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Please review! :)


	13. Chapter 13

Thanks for the reviews!

* * *

 **Chapter thirteen**

When they arrived back at the base, Modo drove right inside. "We need a medic!", he yelled. There was immediately action. Two nurses ran to Modo's bike and did a quick exam on Gaya. She was still unconscious and bleeding bad from a wound on her head.  
"We need to stitch that wound and stop the bleeding. Go get a brancard!" The other nurse ran away to get it. Modo had a worried look on his face. "Is she gonna be okay?", he asked. The nurse shrugged. "Who knows? Only time will tell."  
Any other people would have called the nurse insensitive, thinking she didn't care. But in times of war, you needed to protect yourself. Keeping your distance. Otherwise it would destroy you. But Modo knew. He looked sad when they took Gaya away to the medic room.  
"You alright, big fella?", Throttle asked, while laying a hand on his shoulder.  
Modo nodded. "Yeah… What happened out there? Why did they follow us? And why didn't we notice?"  
Throttle was rubbing his chin, deep in thoughts.  
"I don't know… I think we found something big, something they want to keep secret. Something they are protecting so well, that they'd only sended two buggies after us, to make sure the building stayed good secured."  
Modo looked at him. "So, I guess we are going to find out what it is they hide? And destroy it?"  
"Bingo. But we need a good plan. First step, finding out what is inside that building."  
Vinnie joined them, a little upset because Gaya got hurt under his watch. "Hey bro's, maybe Jake still have those documents on his computer. Better found out soon what the plan is, so we can pound that slimy fish faces for what they did to Gaya!" He slammed his fist into his other hand.  
"Patience, Vinnie my man, patience. First things first. Go get Jake and meet us in Carbine's office", Throttle said, still with a thoughtful frown on his face.

Moments later, Throttle, Modo, Vinnie, Jake and Stoker sat with Carbine in her office. Everybody had a sad look on their faces because of what happened. Gaya was wounded, how bad they still didn't know, and they'd lost another soldier. Even Vinnie knew this wasn't the time for fooling around. No. It was payback time.  
Carbine sighed. "Well… I think we all agree that our first priority is finding out what is going on in that building. Jake, please tell me you have something."  
Jake looked at his computer.  
"Well, I've found some documents that tells us there are about a 100 prisoners. They run experiments on them. By the looks of things, they are testing with some kind of virus, called Inferno." Jake swallowed. "I really don't wanna tell all the details, because it's disgusting. Very disturbing. The Plutarkians are sick people, that's for sure now. I think it's safe to say that the virus kills people, very slowly and very painful. They inject it into the test subjects, which are the prisoners."  
Everybody in the room held their breath. A virus? How can you fight something that small, but so deadly?  
"We need to make sure they don't get the chance to spread that virus", Throttle said.  
Carbine nodded. "Yes, but how?"

Vinnie rolled his eyes, everyone in here was missing the obvious.  
"Well, what about blowing up the building? Destroy everything in sight, including that stupid virus. Duh."  
Stoker shook his head. "No, that's too dangerous. We don't know what happens if the virus comes free after we attack the building. And what about all the prisoners? We just kill them all? No. We need to know more about this virus."  
Vinnie pouted, but the rest agreed with Stoker.  
"As far as I can see, the virus is still in progress", Jake said while scanning through the documents. "They inject it for now, but I think they wanna developpe it, so they can spread it through the air. I've found some test results, saying that an infected subject… Wait, what?" Jake looked confused and readed the line again. "An infected subject bit an healthy one and infected him. Why would he bite another prisoner?", Jake wondered out loud.  
Modo suddenly got an idea. "Yo, bro's! Remember that story Charley told us about her dog? He got sick and went all crazy and stuff. They had no choice to put him down. It was some kind of virus, very dangerous. What was is called? I can't remember…"  
Throttle thought about it. "I can't remember either…"  
"Rabies", Vinnie said, like he was stating the obvious. Everybody stared at him.  
"What? Why are you guys looking at me like that?"  
Carbine smiled. "It's just… It's weird to hear you say something that actually makes sense." The rest of the group broke out in laughter, glad to have a little moment to break the tension.  
"Well, at least I have listened to Ch… Charley's stories!", Vinnie said, his ears drooping by saying Charley's name for the first time in weeks. The laughing stopped immediately.  
"You're right Vinnie, I'm sorry", Carbine said and then looked at Jake.  
"Can you find something about this… rabies?"  
"Already on it!", Jake said, busy typing on his computer.  
"Ah, here it is. Rabies is an virus from Earth. It's very deadly, and no cure. It spreads by blood and saliva. First, it feels like you have a fever, with shivers, vomiting and headache. At a later stage, hyperactivity, neck stiffness, muscle spasms and paralysis occur. Eventually, complications such as swallowing and breathing problems can lead to death. Animals can also show aggressive behaviour."

There was a long silence, which was broken by Stoker.  
"Knowing the Plutarkians, they will exploit the aggressive part off the virus. To make spreading easier."  
"So, if they can't spread it through the air…", Modo said slowly.  
"Then they will make sure it is spreaded by our own people", Throttle finished firmly.  
"Oh my…", Carbine looked unsure, something that didn't happen fast. "We need to find a way to stop them!"  
Nobody said something, all in shock from the latest developments.  
"Jake, can you find out in what stage they are with developing the virus?", Throttle asked, breaking the silence.  
"By the looks of things, early stage."  
Throttle nodded. "Good, that will give us some time to think about what to do to stop them."  
"I agree, but they know we saw the building. The chances are they will speed up their work. Or maybe they will spread it before it's even finished. I assume that, even in this stage, the virus is deadly enough to cause some real damage!"

Vinnie stood up with a dark look on his face.  
"Well, then I suggest we come up with an idea as fast as possible. Otherwise, Mars is done. Along with everybody and everything that's left on it…"

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Cliffhanger! Muawahaha! Please review! :)


	14. Chapter 14

Thanks for the reviews.

* * *

 **Chapter fourteen**

Meanwhile, Violet had locked herself up in her room. She was tired after a night full with twisting and turning and no sleep. She felt sad and angry at the same time. She had opened up, told her story, even if she had vowed to herself to never talk about it again. And what did she get in return? Another rejection. See? Never talk to someone about what is bothering you. What's the point? Vinnie said it wasn't about trust, but she found that very hard to believe. Why did he refuse to talk to her? What was going on in his head? What happened on Earth that was tearing him apart? Violet sighed. She was starting to think that maybe it was for the best to give up on him. Apparently, it just wasn't meant to be. But still… There was still that little voice in her head who was telling her that she needed him. That they belonged together. That they were soulmates, just like her parents. Violet laughed without humor. Yeah… we all know how that ended. She slammed her fist into her pillow. "God dammit! What to do?"

Suddenly, she heard a knock on her door. Her first reaction was to ignore it. She wanted to be left alone. But when the knocking continued, she forced herself to stand up and she opened the door. She was very surprised to see Flint. She had never liked the guy and he also had been very clear about how he felt about her, which was not really positive. So, it was kind of a shock to see him standing at her door. A nervous feeling crawled up to her.  
"What do you want?", she asked suspicious. Flint looked a little nervous too.  
"I came to tell you that the patrol went wrong today. They were attacked."  
Violet felt a pang of fear. Vinnie..  
"Gaya is hurt. She is in the medic room. One other soldier died, I didn't know him. The rest is in Carbine's office. I think there is something wrong."  
Violet felt relief when she heard that Vinnie was okay, but it quickly was followed by shame. She had became good friends with Gaya during their training.  
"How bad is it?", she asked, scared to hear the answer.  
"I don't know. She hit her head hard and is still unconscious."  
Violet closed the door behind her. "I'll go see her, maybe there is something I can do." She looked at Flint. "Thanks Flint, for telling me this."  
Flint shuffled with one feet over the ground, hands behind his back. "No problem. I… My behaviour before was wrong. Childish. I can see that now. And I'm sorry. I will try to make it up to you guys."  
Violet gave a little smile and patted his arm. "It's okay, Flint. Thank you."

She took of to the medic room. When she walked inside, she immediately spotted Gaya in the corner of the room. She was lying in a bed with a thick bandage around her head, eyes closed. Her ears peeped out, drooping as far as the bandage allowed them. Her breathing was calm and regularly. Violet grabbed Gaya's hand.  
"Hey Gaya, it's me, Violet. How are you feeling?" Of course, there was no response. A nurse came into view to check on Gaya's vital functions.  
"How is she?", Violet asked with worry. The nurse looked at her. "She is stable for now. We have to see what the damage is if she wakes up."  
Violet noticed that the nurse said 'if she wakes up' instead of 'when'. How was it possible that things went so wrong on her first patrol? What was going on? She could feel tension in the air. She really needed to talk to Vinnie. Violet squeezed in Gaya's hand.  
"I'll be back, Gaya. Stay strong."  
The moment the words left her mouth, a siren went off. The sound of it was so loud, that Violet covered her ears, feeling a hint of panic. The speaker that hang in every room, crackled to life. "We are under attack. Prepare for battle. We are under attack. Prepare for battle", the automatic voice repeated. Okay, Violet thought. Now it's time to panic!

Moments before the siren went off, there was a heavy discussion going on in Carbine's office. There was still no plan on how to stop the Plutarkians from spreading the virus, and the tension was rising. Throttle and Stoker were busy arguing, but were interrupted by the siren. For a moment, everybody froze at the sudden sound. But in a split second, they jumped into action. Vinnie ran to the window. He saw Plutarkians coming in the distant, marching to the base.  
"Uh oh bro's… We got company!", he yelled, half excited, half worried. Throttle looked over Vinnie's shoulder out of the window.  
"It seems that they are willing to do everything to defend their new weapon. Battle mode, bro's!"  
Throttle, Modo, Vinnie, Jake and Carbine flew out of the office, right into chaos. They ran through the busy hallways. Soldiers who were ready to fight, joined them and the group ran to the big garage. The rest was fleeing to the basement for safety. Stoker stayed behind to coordinate things at the base.  
Everybody jumped on their bikes. "Freedom Fighters, ATTACK!", Throttle shouted and the large group drove out in the direction of the Plutarkian soldiers. Everybody was worried about this sudden attack. Well, almost everybody.  
"AAAOOWW, finally back in the saddle! Let's do this, bro's!"  
They jumped over an hill. Vinnie pumped his fist in the air.  
"It's tail whippin' tiiiiime!", he sang cheerfully and when they landed on the ground, all hell broke loose. The Plutarkians, surprised to see suddenly a big army of Martian Mice coming straight at them, opened fire.  
"Let's fry these finfaces!", Throttle yelled and returned fire. The group split up, trying to surround the group of Plutarkians. Vinnie, very happy to finally have some real action, fired one of his newest toys. A huge rocket flew to the air.  
"Fire in tha hole!", he yelled, laughing almost hysterically. The explosion was deafening and wiped out almost the half of the Plutarkian group. Even Vinnie was impressed. "Whoa, that's what I call a great entrance!", he laughed, zigzagging to avoid the shots from the enemy. Chaos, panic and disaster. He breathed in heavily. Yes, this was the life!

Everybody was giving their best in the fight and suddenly, all too soon if you'd asked Vinnie, it was over. The Plutarkians had retreated.  
Throttle came to an halt and signed to the rest to do the same. "Is it just me, or was this way too easy?", he asked with concern. Modo nodded. "Yeah, I feel ya, bro. It felt like they even didn't fight back or something."  
Vinnie, hyped up because of the adrenaline in his system, waved away their worries. "Bro's! Talk about a low selfasteme! We're the best! They never stood a chance!"  
Throttle shook his head. "No. Something is wrong."  
At that moment, there was the sound of an explosion nearby. They all turned their heads in the direction of the sound. When they understood what was going on, even Vinnie's head cleared.  
"They are attacking the base!" Throttle revved his engine. "I knew it! This was all just a diversion, to lead us away from the base! Let's ride, bro's!"  
Everybody followed his lead back to base. They pushed their bikes to the limits. How could we fall for this trick? Throttle thought, feeling angry at himself. Carbine, who was driving next to him, knew what was going through his head. She felt the same way. Since when were the Plutarkians smarter than them? What else do they have in mind? What could they expect further?

Vinnie, who was driving way ahead of the group because of his fast bike (and skills of course), first felt happy that there still was a chance to create more disaster. But when he flew over the hill and saw the chaos at the base, his blood turned cold. Violet…

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Oh my... another cliffhanger! Hehehe. Please review! :)


	15. Chapter 15

It is getting old, but thanks again for the reviews! Really glad you guys give me your opinion. Keeps me motivated. :)

* * *

 **Chapter fifteen**

At the base, Violet was running through the hallways. She didn't know what to do. When she came around a corner, she bumped into Stoker, who caught her.  
"Whoa, little lady, easy there!"  
Violet, at first feeling panic because someone was holding her, struggled hard to get free. But when she recognized Stoker's voice, she relaxed.  
"STOKER! What is going on? Where is Vinnie?", she asked, her normally husky voice high from panic. Stoker took her arm and dragged her with him.  
"We're under attack, they are already inside. They tricked us, created a diversion to lead the soldiers away. Vinnie is out there. We need to get out of here!"  
They ran to the garage, only to see it was gone. The explosion had destroyed the room, including the bikes.  
"Shit!", Stoker yelled. That alerted a couple Plutarkian soldiers, who began to run towards them.  
"Violet, run!", Stoker screamed and he turned around to stop them.  
Violet, at first frozen, came to senses. She ran back into the base. It was like a nightmare. Bodies everywhere, furniture destroyed, smoke made it difficult to breath. Vinnie, where are you? she thought, tears escaping her eyes.

She fled into a room and locked the door. She opened the closet and crawled inside. After closing the doors behind her she sank on the floor, trying to control her rapid breathing. She was shaking uncontrollably. What was she thinking? That she was capable to fight in a war? Everything she had learned in training, vanished since she had heard the siren. Real life was so much harder. She had thought she was ready. But obviously, she wasn't.  
Violet took a few deep breaths to calm down. Panic never helped anyone. She grabbed her gun and held it in her hand. If somebody was coming in, she would use it and… Ugh… who am I kidding? I can't even fire a gun. Probably never will. She couldn't stop crying. Crying over the loss of her family, this war that destroyed everything, her incapability to fight, Vinnie…

Suddenly, she heard a noise. The door from the room blasted open. Two Plutarkian soldiers came in and looked around. Violet peeked through the small opening between the closet doors. Shit, shit, shit! Now what?  
One of the soldiers walked to the closet. The other one was looking under the bed. "There is nothing here. Let's go."  
The other one shook his head. "I'll check the closet and then we'll go", and he opened the doors. He looked down, and saw a pretty, young female mouse. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?", he said with a evil smirk on his ugly face. "A strong, young body. Perfect for being a test subject."  
Violet didn't have a clue what he was talking about, but knew one thing was for sure. She was not going to be a test subject, no matter what they were testing. She jumped at her feet and pointed her gun. But despite the critical situation, she froze. The Plutarkian soldier took advantage from this moment and beated the gun out of her hand. Violet tried to run, but he caught her before she could make it to the door.  
"Let me go, you ugly fish face!", she screamed, struggling to get free.  
"Aahh, she is a feisty one!", the soldier smiled. His colleague smiled too. "Perfect. The boss will be very pleased. Let's go!"  
They walked through the base with an struggling and screaming Violet. She kicked hard against the leg of the soldier who was holding her.  
"You bitch!", he yelled and gave her a hard hit on the head. Violet stopped struggling, feeling dazed from the blow. Vinnie, please… where are you?

Meanwhile, the Freedom Fighters arrived at the base. Throttle, Modo and Vinnie were riding in the front. "We've gotta stop them, they've already destroyed half of the base!", Modo shouted, raising his arm cannon. He shot at two Plutarkian soldiers who were trying to get into the base. Close to the place where the garage used to be, they saw Stoker fighting with a huge Plutarkian soldier. Vinnie drove towards them and shot the Plutarkian with his laser. It didn't brought him down, but he was distracted by it. Stoker grabbed his chance and punched him out cold.  
"Thanks for the back up, punk!", he yelled at Vinnie.  
"No problemo, old timer!", Vinnie yelled back, his eyes searching for Violet. He felt fear by seeing the destruction. The pain in his chest made it difficult to breathe. This was not gonna happen again. No. He couldn't stand the thought of losing Violet too. That made one thing very clear for him. She meant a lot more to him than he had shown. He had tried to run from it and because of that, he was beginning to make the same mistake again. What if he lost her too, without telling her how he felt? How he really felt? Dammit.  
He turned around by hearing someone scream. He saw two Plutarkian soldiers struggling with a young, female mouse. One that looked a lot like…  
"Violet!", Vinnie screamed, revving his engine. He felt hatred taking over his body, the same feeling he had on Earth when Charley had died. Who did they think they are, touching her? Taking her away from him? Well, not when he was around. Not this time. No fucking way he was gonna make the same mistake again. That was NOT gonna happen.  
He grabbed his handlebars tightly and sped away. Throttle and Modo saw it happen, and Throttle saw the same murderous look on Vinnie's face he'd only had seen before once.  
"Vincent!", he shouted, but Vinnie didn't listen. Throttle and Modo wanted to go after him, but were forced to drive the other way when a bomb exploded on their path.

Vinnie drove to the two Plutarkian soldiers and without stopping, he jumped of his bike and landed on the fish who was next to Violet. The Plutarkian's only warning was a flash of light reflecting from Vinnie's bike before he felt someone land on him and he fell on the ground with his face in the dirt. He gave a surprised yell, with a strange high voice. If the situation wasn't this critical, it would have been funny. At first, Violet only saw a white blur, but then she recognized who it was. She felt a huge relief. He was here…

Vinnie grabbed the fish by the head and slammed it into the ground. The fish stopped moving. He looked up from the knocked out fish.  
"Let her go. NOW!", he growled between gritted teeth. The soldier who was holding Violet, took his gun and pointed it at Violet's head.  
"No way. If you want her to live, then surrender and get outta my way!"

Vinnie, who's rage grew even bigger when he saw the gun pointed at Violet's head, raised his hands. It took every strength he got to control himself. He was shaking in anger. His tail was lashing through the air. Violet looked at him. She never saw him like this before. Of course, she had seen him angry. But now… the hate poured out from every vein in his body. His fur bristled, his teeth gritted with so much strength, she was scared he would break his jaw. The look in his eyes… She almost felt sorry for the soldier who was holding her. Almost.  
And then, Vinnie looked her in the eye. His face softened a little, but his look was so intense that she could feel her legs become weak. But she understood his message. Be prepared. So that's what she did. She tensed every muscle in her body, ready for action.  
"You've got me now, fish face. So let the lady go. Now!", Vinnie demanded, his voice dangerously low.  
The soldier, who was feeling a pang of fear by seeing the rage spatting from the white furred mouse, shook his head.  
"No! Now get out of my way, or else she gets a one way ticket to hell!" he screamed, trying to walk away, the gun still against Violet's head. He was so focussed on Vinnie, he didn't saw that two other mice in the form of Modo and Throttle were racing towards him from behind. A laser hit the ground nearby his feet, and he quickly looked behind him. That was the distraction they had needed.

Violet quickly glared at Vinnie, who gave a small nodd. She raised her right arm and with all the strength she had in her, she knocked her elbow in the fat stomach of the fish who was holding her. The blow was hard enough to make the Plutarkian soldier bend over in pain, losing his grip. Vinnie took his chance. He pushed Violet out of the way and launched himself at the fish, who was still recovering from the punch in his stomach. He felt on the ground, with Vinnie on top of him.  
"Who's got who now, fucking slimeball?", Vinnie growled and hit the Plutarkian once, twice… He kept hitting on the head of the fish, releasing all the anger that was build up inside him from the moment Charley died. Vinnie didn't notice that the other Plutarkian soldier, from who Vinnie thought was out cold, stirred and took his gun. The soldier slowly pointed the gun at Vinnie's back.

Vinnie didn't saw it. Violet did. No... she thought and grabbed the gun that was lying by her feet, the one that was pressed against her head only seconds ago. She pointed it at the fish on the ground and lay her finger on the trigger. But again, she could feel her body freeze, hearing voices in her head, screaming. "You're nothing but a slut!" Her father's voice. Her mother crying. The gunshot. The blood… and then she saw an image of Vinnie from their first night together. The tender and sweet look on his face while they had sex… "No…", she whispered, and then harder: "NO!"  
She pulled the trigger. She hit the fish in the back of his head. He was dead.

The sound from a shot close by him, made Vinnie stop. He slowly turned around. He saw Violet standing, legs spreaded and pointing a gun at something behind him. The gun was still smoking from the shot. He glared behind him, and saw the dead fish, with his gun still in his hands. Vinnie looked back at Violet, who still didn't move. Tears were streaming over her face.

And at that moment, Vincent van Wham broke.

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Oh god... what will happen next? Please review! :)


	16. Chapter 16

Wauw, thanks for the reviews! Too hear that people are truly touched by my story, that is so moving. Thank you!

* * *

 **Chapter sixteen**

Vinnie sat on his knees, tears made his vision unclear. His throat was burning. The pain in his chest worked his way up and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He was shaking uncontrollably, couldn't breathe. He was gasping for air, bend over, his hands on the ground. It felt like he was gonna choke. Suddenly, a hand on his back. He looked up and saw a blurry vision of Violet, who let herself fall on her knees in front of him. He saw those beautiful, green eyes. He couldn't speak. Slowly, he reached out and touched her face with a shaking hand. She took him in her arms and Vinnie cried. Cried like he had never cried before in his life. He couldn't stop. All the pain that had been stuck inside of him for all this time, worked his way out. The loss of his family, the war that took his home, the scars on his face, the loss of Harley, the explosion by the Last Chance Garage, the loss of Charley… The guild, the failure.  
Violet just held him tightly and stroked his back, whispering that it was okay. After a few minutes that felt like hours, Vinnie slowly calmed down. He felt so tired and then there was that pounding headache behind his eyes. But the burden he had carried with him for so long, wasn't so heavy anymore. He could breathe again. He slowly began to realize they were still on a battlefield. But why was everything so quiet?

He opened his eyes and looked around. It seemed that the Freedom Fighters succeeded to drive the fishfaces away. They'd won. But for once, Vinnie felt no victory. The fight had caused a lot of damage. Had taken a lot of lifes. He had the nagging feeling this was only the beginning. That there was worse to come.  
He turned his gaze on Violet. "Are you okay, sweetheart? Did they hurt you?", he asked with a hoarse voice.  
"I'm fine. Thanks to you," she answered and hugged him. She never, ever wanted to let him go. Vinnie gently untangled himself and took her head in his hands.  
"You've pulled the trigger. I'm so proud of you."  
Violet looked into his watery, ruby red eyes. "I did it because of you. I couldn't stand the thought of losing you… You are too important…", she whispered.

Vinnie could feel all his walls break down. The fact that she had overwon her trauma, just to save him… That must mean something. That must be love.  
He couldn't fight it anymore. The image of Charley appeared, but he pushed it away. I'm sorry, Charley girl… and he pressed his lips on Violet's. The kiss was different this time. It was a message. They belonged together. They both felt it. They both knew there was still a lot to talk about, but for now, the feeling of being loved was enough. Vinnie gently broke off the kiss and pressed his forehead against hers.  
"Thank you, sweetheart. For saving me."  
Violet knew he was not just talking about saving him from the Plutarkian soldier. She had saved him from himself.  
"Anytime, cutie…" and she kissed him again.

The sound of clearing a throat made them stop. They looked up and saw Throttle and Modo. Unknown to Vinnie and Violet, they had seen everything. They were grateful that Violet accomplished to break down Vinnie's walls. All they ever wanted for their younger bro, was that he would have someone he could trust. Someone he didn't felt ashamed at to show his emotions. To recover. To rebuilt. It looked like he had finally found it.  
"Ahem… Yeah… Hi bro's", Vinnie said blushing, climbing on his feet. He offered his hand to Violet to help her up. When she was standing next to him, he wrapped his tail around hers. "Thanks for the help back there", Vinnie said. Throttle and Modo smiled.  
"Anytime bro, anytime!", Modo rumbled, patting him on the back. Throttle looked at Vinnie. He was a mess. Bloodshot eyes, dirt and blood stuck in his normally snow white fur, tears had made lines in the dust on his face… But even with all this, he looked better than ever. The pain in his eyes was almost gone, replaced by something else. Joy. Throttle was really happy for his bro, but unfortunately, it was time to get back to reality.  
"Hate to break up this moment, but we have problems", he said, looking around. "We took a hard hit today. We need to come up with a plan. It's payback time!"  
Violet gave a firm nod. "I'm with you guys! I'm sick and tired of being a victim. I wanna fight back. And I'm ready now!"  
Throttle saw the determination on her face. "Good. Welcome to the family, Violet."  
Violet felt a warm feeling inside. Despite everything that had happened, she felt she was at the right place. She had a family again. Something to fight for.  
Vinnie smiled at her, feeling very proud. She sure was a fighter, something he really appreciated in a woman.

An hour later, everybody was gathered in Carbine's office again. Thankfully, the room had survived the attack. The rest of the Freedom Fighters were busy to clean up the mess. Normally, it was standard procedure that every mouse who had survived, helped cleaning up. But this time was different. It was priority number one that they would come up with something to stop the evil plan from the Plutarkians. To stop project Inferno.  
Vinnie had told Violet what they had discovered during patrol and right before the attack. She had told them that the soldiers who took her, were talking about her being a good test subject. So, that made clear what the intentions were behind the attack.  
Vinnie had felt his anger flame up again when he heard that they'd wanted to use Violet for their sick plans. But then, it was replaced by relief. Relief that he did the right thing this time. That he had made it time to save her. She was sitting next to him, their tails entwined.

Carbine had seen that there was something going on between them, but had decided to let it go. There were far more important things to do right now.  
Jake was sitting next to Stoker. He did a good job in the battlefield. Together with his knowledge of computers, he was a good gain for the group. Carbine was glad he was with them.  
"Well… We were not prepared for this kind of attack. They have played it really smart this time, something you don't really expect from a race like the Plutarkians. But, this is not the first time we underestimated them. This whole project Inferno is the prove of that", Carbine said, looking a little upset. "We've lost a lot of people today. We will never forget them and what they did for our planet. But, unfortunately, we have no other choice then to move on. We need to make sure they did not die in vain."  
Everybody agreed. Then, Modo took the word.  
"Well, I have been thinking. I think, we need to get everybody who is still in shape to fight together and go to that building. While the main part of the group distracts them, a few of us sneak inside."  
"SNEAK?", Vinnie interrupted him. "Biker Mice DO NOT sneak!"  
Modo sighed. "I just knew you were gonna say that. So I suppose you are in the group who creates the diversion and putting your life at risk, just the way you like it."  
Vinnie thought about it. "It could be a catastrophe…" he whispered dramatically, but then smiled his trademark smile. "That's why I love it!", he cheered.  
Stoker ignored him. "Modo, I think you just came up with a great idea! We just do the same thing to them as what they did to us. Because it's actually so obvious, they will never see it coming!"  
Modo blushed and shrugged. "That's what I was thinking too."  
Throttle patted him on the back. "Good work, big fella!"

Carbine took over. "So, we have a big group outside to distract them, make them think we want to destroy the building. Meanwhile, a little group sneak inside. They release the prisoners and find out where the virus is. Then, they take it with them and later on, we will find a way to destroy it. Hmmm… Yeah… I like the sound of it."  
Throttle nodded. "Yeah… Only one thing is bothering me. The doors, the fence… everything is automatic. Knowing the Plutarkians, it is made by Plutarkian glass steel. How do we get inside?"  
Jake waved. "Hello? Computer whiz over here! I can take the security down."  
"Right", Throttle smiled sheepishly and then a thoughtful look came on his face.  
"It's risky…"  
"...difficult…", Vinnie continued.  
"... and dangerous", Modo finished.  
"Aaoww, sounds like life as I love it!" Vinnie's grin almost split his face in half.  
Modo nodded. "A perfect way to spend the afternoon."

Carbine couldn't help but smile. "Well, glad you guys are up to it. Okay. Vinnie will lead the diversion, since he is the master of disaster. Throttle, Modo, Stoker, Violet and me will go inside. Jake, you'll find a place at safe distance to do your thing. At your signal, we will enter the building. Once inside, Stoker, Modo and Violet will free the prisoners. Throttle and me will look for the virus. When we are done and at safe distance, the building is all yours, Vinnie."  
Vinnie almost bounced off his chair. "YES! Finally!"  
Carbine looked at Violet, who was very quiet.  
"You are sure you are ready for this, Violet?"  
Violet nodded. "Yes. I am. Definitely!"  
Carbine was still not completely convinced.  
"So no freezing? No panic attacks? I really hate it to sound so insensitive, but there is too much at stake here."  
Violet looked a little offended. Deep down, she understood why Carbine said it. But still, the lack of trust hurted.  
Vinnie swung his arm around her shoulders and gave her a little smile before he turned himself to Carbine. "She is ready. Trust me."  
Carbine gave him an amusing look. "Trusting you? Normally when you say 'trust me', I would run the other way. But there is a first time for everything. So okay, I will trust you. At least... I will try"  
Vinnie just knew he was right. Violet was ready. He had seen it. She will prove herself. Carbine will see it for herself.

Throttle stood up and looked around the table. "Alright! It's tail whippin' time!"

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Please review! :)


	17. Chapter 17

Thanks again for the lovely reviews. Glad to hear that my English is good enough to understand the story. Sometimes it's really hard to discribe what is in my head and translate it to English. But, I'm learning. It's becoming a little bit easier, step by step.

Soooo, next chapter! Hope you guys enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter seventeen**

Two hours later, they were ready to go. They'd found enough soldiers who not only survived the attack, but also were eager to fight back. Luckily, most of the soldiers were outside during the attack, including their bikes. So there were enough bikes to take with them on this mission. The few who had lost their ride because of the destruction off the garage, drove along with another soldier. Because Violet didn't had her own bike, they'd decided to let her drive with Modo, since they had the same task (freeing the prisoners).

Vinnie had gathered all the weapons he owned, which were a lot. It hardly fitted on his bike, but of course, Vinnie had find a way to take them all with him. He had ordered the rest to do the same. They were definitely going to need all the firepower they could find.

Throttle and Carbine had spoken with the other five mice from the patrol group about the surrounding. It seemed there were no surprises, like boobytraps. The building was surrounded by rock formations and hills, but nothing they couldn't handle. There were enough routes they could take to get the prisoners to safety before Vinnie would destroy the building.

Finally, it was time. Vinnie walked over to Violet.  
"Be careful out there, sweetheart", he said, while giving her a tight hug. Violet hugged him back.  
"You too. You are way too cute to die", she smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. She was scared. Scared to lose him before they even were together. There was still so much to talk about. She still wanted to know what had happened on Earth. Vinnie had promised her that he would tell her, but that now wasn't time. She knew he was right. He needed to focus on the fight right now. If they would win, there was plenty of time to talk. And do other stuff…  
Vinnie kissed her, breaking her out of her thoughts.  
"See you after the fight. Kick some asses out there. I'm sure I will. See you back in one piece, okay!" It was not a question. Violet nodded. "Deal."  
Vinnie turned to Modo. "Take care off her, big fella."  
Modo gave him a hard clap on his back and Vinnie was almost smashed to the ground because of the strength. "I will, Vinnie my man, I will. Bikers honour."  
Vinnie nodded, knowing that Violet was in good hands with Modo. But he had a such a strong feeling to protect her himself. Scared of losing her. He, scared? Yeah, for the first time in his life, he felt really scared. Not that he was going to say that out loud. He pushed his worries aside and jumped on his bike. He needed to focus on his task.

Violet climbed on Modo's bike, almost completely disappearing behind the large, grey mouse. Vinnie couldn't help but smile. She looked so cute and yet so sexy. The things he wanted to do with her… For the first time, he hoped the battle was over soon. Violet saw him looking and winked at him. Vinnie winked back and wiggled his eyebrows, to make his intentions clear. She laughed out loud while shaking her head. Modo turned around to see what was going on, but Violet waved it away. Vinnie snickered. He felt like a teenager that was in love for the first time. It was a weird, but incredible feeling. Something to fight for. And that was exactly what he was going to do.

When they were close to the building, the group splitted up. Jake took place at the same spot he had during the patrol, because it had a great view at the building, but was also well hidden.  
"I'm in position", he said over the radio in his helmet, grabbing his computer. "I'm starting now, wait for my signal, over."  
Modo, Violet, Stoker, Carbine and Throttle drove to the side of the building and hide between two huge rock formations to wait for Jake's signal.  
Vinnie and his group waited behind a hill, out of sight. Waiting… Waiting… Waiting didn't really excist in Vinnie's dictionary. His heart was beating fast, his blood pressure rising… Ready to fight. His tail showed his impatience by lashing through the air. Just when he thought he couldn't stand it anymore, Jake's voice came over the radio.  
"I'm almost in, start distraction, over."  
"YES! Uh, I mean: copy that, over", Vinnie answered and then looked at his group.  
"Alright you mamma jammers, let's rock… and ride!"

At the building, everything was quiet. It almost looked peaceful. Then, the sound of engines in the distant, becoming louder. The guards at the building looked up and tighten their grip on their weapons, ready to use them. Before they fully understood what was going on, they heard a high pitched voice.  
"AAOOWW, let's whip us some Plutarkian tail!" and a large group of Martian Mice flew over the hill. One of the guards grabbed his radio. "We're under attack, battlestations!"  
When Vinnie landed on the ground, he heard the same siren that they had heard during the patrol. He rode straight to the big entrance at the fence, which was guarded by two soldiers. "Honeyyy, I'm hoooome!", he yelled happily and opened fire.  
The guards returned fire, but were soon forced to run away from the door because of the heavy attack coming from Vinnie. The white furred mouse laughed maniacally when he chased after them. "Hey, wait for me!" and he gained speed. He quickly caught up with them and steered his bike between the two guards. He let go of his handlebars and grabbed both guards, each in one hand. "Hey there! Welcome to Vinnie's driving school. First lesson; always keep a close watch on your surrounding!" and he slammed the heads of the guards hard against each other. Vinnie dropped the unconscious bodies and turned back at the fight. As expected, the building had opened his doors and a large army came out. They marched through the opening in the fence, right into the arms of the Freedom Fighters.  
"Alright! It's working!", Vinnie yelled and threw himself into chaos.

On the other side of the building, Throttle's group was waiting for Jake's signal. The sound of heavy explosions and Vinnie's battlecry was echoing through the air. Everybody shook their head with a smile.  
"Well, at least one of us is having fun", Modo said, knowing that Vinnie was having the time of his life.  
"You know he is loving this", Throttle agreed.  
Jake's signal came sooner then they'd expected.

"I'm in, I am opening the fence… now!"  
The group jumped at their feet. "The kid is fast!", Carbine said, impressed in spite of herself.  
"Alright, let's go", Throttle said while walking to the small door in the fence they had spotted during patrol. The door was indeed open. They ran to the building, heads low and keeping a close watch at their surrounding.  
"Jake, are the doors from the building open yet?", Throttle asked through the radio. He didn't want to give away their presence by pulling on a door that was closed like some kind of idiot.  
"Yes, I took all the security down. Piece of cake!", Jake answered. "So, you guys have a free ticket in and out of jail. Use it well, and fast! Don't know how long it will take before the Plutarkians notice that their security is down."  
Throttle snickered. "Good job, Jake!" and he opened the door. Everybody sneaked inside and Carbine closed the door behind them. It looked like they were in some sort of cafetaria. Throttle walked to the open door at the other side of the room and peeked into the hallways.  
"Coast is clear. It looks like our plan is working so far. Modo, Violet and Stoker; you guys go left and find those prisoners. Try to keep a low profile, but since Vinnie isn't here, that must be no problem. Carbine and me go right, trying to locate the virus."

Modo nodded, taking over the leading roll. He sneaked around the corner, his bionic arm ready to shoot. Violet and Stoker followed him, also carrying a gun. "Why is it so quiet here? Are they really that stupid to send everybody outside?", Stoker whispered, feeling uncomfortable. He soon got an answer on his last question. When they came around another corner, they saw two guards at a door with bars in it. The good news was, they had found the part of the building where they, by the looks of things, kept the prisoners. The bad news was, the guards found them. But before they could react, Modo raised his arm cannon and shot both guards. Violet was about to do the same, but saw that Modo already handled it. She lowered her gun. Her heart was beating fast, but her body was still reacting. That was good news. It confirmed her feeling that she was ready.

"We have to be quick, before they find out we are here", Stoker said, opening the door. They ran inside and Stoker closed the door behind him. When their eyes were used to the dark environment, they saw a long hallway with cells on both sides. There were about 50 of them. They walked slowly to one of the cells.  
A female mouse was lying on the ground. She was skinny to the bone, the few clothing she was wearing were torn and dirty. But it was the look in her eyes that took Violet off guard. She had never seen someone who had lost hope. Who was waiting to die. She saw it in the eyes of the female mouse and it hit her right in the heart. Poor thing.  
Modo gently pushed Violet aside and opened the cell door. He took the female mouse by the hand and helped her up. She was looking scared at Modo, who tried to calm her down. "We are here to help you, ma'am. Can you walk?"  
The mouse nodded, still not really understanding what was going on. But she followed Modo. No matter what was going on, it was better than staying here and waiting till death was coming for her.

Stoker, Violet and Modo opened every cell and helped the prisoners to make a line in the hallway, were they waited for further instructions. It was heartbreaking work. Every prisoner was in bad shape, the one worse than the other. Some of them were only children.  
Modo was almost at the end of the hallway and tried to open another cell. Before he could do that, a shadow flew to the bars and slammed against them. Modo quickly stepped back, in shock of what he saw. A male mouse, growling and drooling, his hands through the bars of his cell, trying to grab Modo. Bloodshot, empty eyes staring at him.  
Violet saw Modo stepping back and heard the growling sounds. She slowly walked closer and when she saw the creature in his cell, she felt a hint of panic.  
"The infected prisoners…", she whispered. "We didn't thought about that. We totally forgot it. What are we gonna do with them?"  
She looked at Modo, horror on her face. Stoker joined them. "We can't take them with us. It's too dangerous. They can't be saved, it's too late for them."  
"So we just let them die here?", Violet asked with a high tone in her voice.  
Stoker nodded. "As much as I hate to say it, we have no choice. You've heard Jake, there is no cure. What if they bite us? What if they escape? I'm sorry Violet, but this is un negotiable."

Violet stared at him in disbelief and Modo shook his head.  
"Oh momma…"

* * *

Oh Modo's momma... Please review! :)


	18. Chapter 18

Thanks for the reviews!

* * *

 **Chapter eighteen**

Meanwhile, Throttle and Carbine were wandering through the empty hallways, looking for the virus. But with no such luck.  
"Dammit, where do they hide it?", Throttle sighed frustrated. "We are running out of time."  
Carbine felt the same frustration. They didn't know how long Vinnie was gonna hold the troops outside. It was like a race against a clock. She suddenly got a idea. She grabbed Throttle and pushed him into a small opening between the walls.  
"Jake, you there?", she asked in her radio. There was a long silence and just when Carbine was starting to get worried, Jake's voice came through.  
"Yes, I'm here."  
Carbine let go of her breath. "Good. Listen, can you find blueprints or a map or something like that? We can't find the virus, we are looking for a lab, but there is nothing here."  
"I will look for it, hang on."  
Carbine looked around her, to see they still were alone. "How is Vinnie holding up?", she asked at Jake.  
"He is having the time of his life. He will hold them for now."  
"Good."  
"Okay, I've found something. It looks like the lab is in the basement. There is only one way in, and that's right next to the entrance in the front. You need to take the elevator. Think you guys can find it?"  
Carbine and Throttle looked at each other and smiled.  
"Yes, no problem Jake. Over and out."

Throttle grabbed Carbine's hand and they quickly left their hiding spot. They moved into the direction of the entrance. Throttle peeked around the corner and saw the elevator Jake had mentioned. He could see the battlefield outside. He smiled. Vinnie was doing a great job. Not that he had doubted it. Give Vinnie a free ticket to create chaos and disaster, and the white furred mouse made sure that the job was done.  
"Coast is clear, let's go", Throttle said and they ran to the elevator. But when Throttle pushed the button to open the doors, a voice made them stop. "Hey! What do you think you are doing?"

Throttle and Carbine turned around quickly and saw four guards pointing their guns at them. They glared at each other and raised their hands. But then, Throttle shouted: "Hit and run manoeuvre number five!" His tail grabbed the gun that was in Carbine's leg holster and opened fire at the guards. Meanwhile, Carbine ran to the elevator and pushed the button again. The doors opened and Carbine flew inside. Throttle slowly walked backwards without stopping shooting at the guards. When he was inside the elevator, the doors closed and shut out the guards.

"Pfew, close one", Carbine puffed. Throttle snickered. "Yeah, but who said couples can't work together?"  
Carbine laughed and shook her head. She was so glad he was back into her life. She really had missed him. Luckily, their relationship had survived the long distance. She didn't know what she would do without him.  
The elevator reached the bottom and the doors opened. They looked around. The lab was huge. Throttle stepped out of the elevator. "Come on, let's find that virus and get the hell out of here. This place give me the creeps."  
Before Carbine followed him, she pushed on the red button in the elevator to shut it down temporarily to avoid the guards could follow them.

It sure was a creepy place. Mean looking instruments were hanging on the wall, probably used to torture the prisoners. In the middle of the room stood a examination table with leather belts on it, to strap the victims at the table. Injections with big needles were lying everywhere. Carbine felt a shiver going through her spine. Yep. Definitely a scary place.  
"It's a good thing Vinnie isn't here. With all the needles and stuff.. You know how much he hates needles", she said. Throttle nodded, standing before a weird looking closet. It was made of glass and attached to some kind of cooling system. Ampuls, filled with a purple liquid, were standing on every shell.  
"This must be it", he said. Carbine agreed. She grabbed the backpack she had with her and Throttle opened the closet. They both hesitated for a moment, feeling some kind of fear to touch something this deadly. But then Throttle reached out, grabbed the ampuls and gently putted them in the bag that Carbine held open for him.  
"Good, let's go!" and they ran back to the elevator.  
"Be prepared for everything when these doors open upstairs", Throttle said while pushing the button. The doors closed and the elevator went up. Suddenly, a loud crack. The elevator shaked and stopped moving.

"Shit. Looks like those stink faces don't want us to leave this building." Throttle pushed the buttons again, but nothing happened. "Now what?"  
Carbine looked at the ceiling. There was a hatch in it."Help me to get up there", she said and Throttle cupped his hands. She set her foot in his hands and he pushed her up. She slammed against the hatch, which flew open. Carbine looked around.  
"We can use the cables from the elevator to climb up."  
Throttle pushed her through the opening from the hatch and followed her. He climbed on top of the elevator. When they were about to climb up, another siren went off.  
" _ **Final fase activated. Self destruction in five minutes** "_, an automatic voice said.

Carbine and Throttle looked at each other. "Uh oh… We have to get out of here, or else we will be mouse pathe!", Throttle said with urgence in his voice.  
Carbine yelled into her radio. "JAKE! What is going on!?"  
"Apparently, they know that we know about the virus. They are willing to do everything to protect their new weapon. If they can't have it, nobody can, so they are going to destroy the whole building. It's an automatic alarm, probably activated when you grabbed the virus", Jake answered.  
"Can you stop it?"

"Negative. I'm trying, but no luck so far. I will keep trying, but in the meantime.. You guys need to get out of there. NOW!"

* * *

And there's another cliffhanger! So exciting! Please review! :)


	19. Chapter 19

Yeah, thanks again for the reviews! I love it! :)

This chapter is gonna be a tense one!

* * *

 **Chapter nineteen**

On the other side of the building, Modo, Violet and Stoker were still arguing what to do with the infected prisoners. Violet refused to leave them behind.  
"Is it not some sort of code from the Freedom Fighters to never leave anyone behind?", she yelled, angry and frustrated. Stoker sighed. This woman sure had a temper alright. No wonder she and Vinnie could get along so well.  
"Violet, I really don't want to argue with you. My decision is final. If you don't agree, that's your choice and I respect that. But right now, I need you to listen to me."  
Violet clenched her fists. She knew she didn't have a choice, but it felt so wrong. She looked angry at Stoker and was about to say something, but Modo came between them. "We don't have time for this. Violet ma'am, I know it hurts. I feel the same way. But Stoker is right. We don't have a choice. We need to get those other prisoners into safety. And time isn't on our side. Arguing is wasting this precious time. We need to go. Now."  
Violet had no other choice than obey. "Fine", she snapped.  
"Okay, good. Come on. Violet, check if the exit is free", Stoker ordered.  
Violet ran to the door and looked through the tiny window. The hallway was empty. It gave her a nervous feeling. Where was everybody?  
At that moment, they heard the siren.

 ** _"Final fase activated. Self destruction in five minutes."_**

Violet swirled around and looked at Stoker and Modo, shock in her eyes.  
"Shit! We need to go!" She threw the door open. "Let's go people!"  
The group of prisoners followed her into the hallway, guided by Stoker and Modo. Violet checked around the corner to see it was empty. Everybody had already left the building. She leaded the group to the closest door outside. When she was waiting till everybody was outside, she heard banging in the distance. Her radio came to life and she heard Carbine's voice, for the first time filled with panic.  
"We are stuck in the elevator nearby the entrance. We climbed up, but we can't open the doors!"  
Violet came into action before Carbine even finished her last sentence. She ran in the direction of the banging. She could hear Modo shouting her name, but she ignored him.

 _ **"Self destruction in three minutes."**_

She flew around the corner, almost falling because of her speed, and saw the elevator. She banged at the doors. "Carbine?! Throttle!?"  
"Violet! Can you open the doors?", Throttle yelled back.  
Violet tried to get her fingers between the two doors, but it was no use. She wasn't strong enough. Now what? She was starting to feel that panic was taken over her body. Her heart pounded in her chest, her breathing came out in rapid breaths.  
"Violet! Go get yourself into safety!", Carbine yelled.  
"NO! I can't just leave you guys here! There must be a way!" Violet looked around, searching for something she could use.

 _ **"Self destruction in two minutes."**_

Violet suddenly saw a iron pipe. She grabbed it and slammed it between the doors. This better work, she thought, using all her strength.

Outside, Vinnie saw Modo and Stoker came out of the building with the prisoners. They fled into the hills, finally safe. But where was Violet?  
He looked behind him at the battlefield. Most of the Plutarkians were dead. The rest of them were running away, knowing it was a losing battle. The Freedom Fighters chased after them. Vinnie knew they could take care of themselfs, so he revved his bike and sped to Modo and Stoker.  
"Modo! Where is Violet?", he demanded when he came to an halt. Modo looked at him, fear in his eyes. Vinnie's worry grew.  
"She is still inside! Carbine and Throttle are stuck in the elevator nearby the entrance and she ran away to help them."  
Vinnie narrowed his eyes by hearing this.  
"And you didn't stop her? Are you stupid? You said you would take care of her!", Vinnie yelled in disbelief. Somewhere deep inside he knew his reaction wasn't fair, that it wasn't Modo's fault. But he just couldn't stop himself.  
Modo looked liked Vinnie had slapped him the face.  
"Vinnie, I…", he started but Vinnie was already gone. His ears drooped. Stoker patted him on the arm. "Vinnie didn't mean it, Modo. You know that."  
But Modo wasn't convinced. He would never be able to forgive himself if Violet didn't make it. He wanted to go after Vinnie, but knew he had to stay here, to guard the prisoners with Stoker.  
Vinnie drove to the building and flew insight. He saw Violet pushing some sort of pipe that was slammed between the doors from the elevator, trying to open them. He jumped of his bike and helped her push. But the doors didn't move.  
"Vinnie!? What are you doing here?", Violet yelled, surprised to see him.  
"I should ask the same thing to you, sweetheart. Are you crazy? What were you thinking?"  
Violet was going to answer, but then…

 _ **"Self destruction in one minute. 60… 59… 58…"**_

Vinnie pushed Violet away. "GO! NOW!"  
Violet shook her head. "No, Vinnie, I can't…" but Vinnie interrupted her.  
"GO! I can't focus when I know you are in danger. I will never forgive myself if I lose you, that I couldn't protect you. NOW GO!"  
Violet looked into his eyes, struggling with her emotions. But seeing the intense look in Vinnie's eyes, she knew she had to go. She quickly kissed him. "See you outside", she said. It took all the strength she had in her to turn around and ran outside. It felt so wrong to leave him behind. But she knew he was right. He was stronger than her and far more experienced. He had a bigger chance of success. Besides, it was not just her life that was on the line, but also Throttle's and Carbine's. It would be selfish to stay and distract Vinnie in his task.

 ** _"40… 39… 38…"_**

Violet saw Modo waving at her up on the hill. She ran over to him.  
"Vinnie is still inside, he is trying to get them free, he… I... " She couldn't stop stuttering. Modo grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "Calm down, Violet. It's gonna be okay. If anybody is gonna get them out of there, it's Vinnie", he said firmly, but the worry in his eyes told her otherwise. He was scared too. Modo wanted to go and help, but there wasn't enough time. Going in was like a suicide mission. Modo had no problem with giving his life for his bro's, but he knew there was nothing he could do. He also knew that his bro's wouldn't want him to give up his life for nothing. It was the hardest decision he had made in his life. But he stayed where he was.

 _ **"10… 9… 8…"**_

Stoker, Modo and Violet were staring at the building, looking for movement, any sign that they were gonna make it outside in time. Come on Vinnie… Violet thought, her insides tight in a knot because of fear. Tears filled her eyes and she quickly wiped them away.

 ** _"3...2...1… Self destruction activated."_**

"No…", Violet whispered. A deafening explosion made her stumble back, covering her ears. She looked up and her legs became weak by seeing the huge explosion. She fell on her knees. Fear, anger and sorrow took over and she screamed. "NO! VINNIE!"

* * *

Uh oh... now what? Please review!


	20. Chapter 20

Thanks for the reviews!

* * *

 **Chapter twenty**

Violet was in shock. This couldn't be real. This wasn't happening. She had found her soulmate and now, too soon, he was taken away from her. Her heart was beating loud, she could hear it in her heard. No, no, no… She lied down on the ground in foetus position and held herself tightly. She cried so hard that she almost couldn't breathe. It felt like her heart was broken into a million pieces. She didn't want to live this life anymore. There was nothing left to fight for. First her parents, now Vinnie… She could feel all of her fighting spirit flooding out of her body. It was done. She was broken, and there was nothing that could heal her. Nothing that could save her.

She heard a the sound of a motorcycle in the distance, but she didn't look up. She was convinced she only heard it in her head, her brain playing some kind of sick game. But when she heard Modo breath in sharply, she slowly lifted up her head. It was no imagination. She did hear a bike coming. She scrambled on her feet and took a closer look. A huge relief streamed through her body from what she saw. Vinnie's bike, with three mice on it, drove right to them. Violet couldn't believe her eyes. How was this possible? She had seen the explosion. No way someone could survive that.

The bike stopped in front of her. And there he was, pulling off his helmet while stepping of his bike. "Hey doll, did you miss me?" His unique voice, his cocky grin… Yep, he really was here and very alive. She jumped into his open arms. He wrapped his strong arms around her and pulled her against him. Violet started crying again. "I thought I'd lost you…", she stuttered, pushing her face in his neck. She sniffed up his scent. It was a combination between leather, a little hint of sweat and cinnamon. She loved it, like she loved everything about this mouse. "You've made it…"  
Vinnie held her tightly, rubbing her back. "Did you doubt?", he said arrogant, but then his face softened. "But I've gotta admit, this was a close one, even for me. A great rush, but too damn close."

Violet suddenly realised they were not alone. "Throttle! Carbine!" and she looked over Vinnie's shoulder. Throttle and Carbine stepped of Vinnie's bike. "Pfew, that sure was a close one", Throttle said, wiping of his forehead. Carbine agreed. "I guess we will never hear the end of this, but I've gotta say it. Thanks for saving our lives, Vinnie. Great job. Only you can make it this close and survive."  
Vinnie gently set Violet on the ground and bowed. "Vinnie's Rescue Team, very pleased to be at your service!", he said, smiling. Throttle patted him on the back.  
"Thanks Vincent. You did a really good job."  
Getting a compliment from Throttle made Vinnie suddenly a little shy.  
"Ahhh, no biggie", he said, kicking in the dirt. Violet smiled. He looked incredibly cute. And sexy. She cleared her throat.  
"But how did you do it?", she asked, still wondering how it was possible he was standing here.  
"Like I do everything… I blow up stuff. A lot. So I blew up the doors from the elevator, dragged those two lovebirds out of the shaft, my bike already next to me, ready to leave. Right before the explosion, we drove out. Guess you didn't see it because of the smoke and dust", he said like it was nothing. But Violet could see that the attention and the praises made him very happy. And of course, blew up his ego to abnormal sizes. But for now, the group let it be. He deserved it. After all, he did save lives today.

Vinnie turned his attention to Modo.  
"Look big fella, I'm… I ehh.. shouldn't have said those things… I'm…", he stuttered. Dammit. You should think that after everything that had happened, it would have made it a lot easier to say that he was sorry and he didn't meant it. But still, he was so not good at this. Probably never will. Guess some things will never change.  
Modo interrupted his pathetic apologie. "It's alright, Vinnie my man. No hard feelings. I know why you said it." And he swung his arm around Vinnie's neck, putting him in a headlock and ruffled his head.  
"Ahh man, let me go!", Vinnie protested. Modo let him go, laughing.  
Vinnie looked at the building. Well, what was left from the building.  
"You know what really pisses me off? That that slimy fish faces blew up the whole building, before me. I was supposed to destroy it!", he pouted.  
Everybody laughed.  
"Well Vinnie, they must have thought that you already had enough for one day. Making sure it didn't get too much for you", Throttle said, shaking his head with a smile.  
"Too much? For moi? Too much is never enough!", Vinnie said, suddenly thinking about Charley. The pain in his chest was gone since he let it all out, but the guild was still there. He pushed it away though. Now wasn't the time.  
"Yo Throttle! Did you find that virus?", he asked.

Carbine pointed at her backpack, answering Vinnie's question. "Oh yeah, we did found it! And it's ours now. We will think about a way to destroy it later on." She turned her gaze on Violet. "Violet, thank you for coming back for us. That took a lot of courage. The sign of a good Freedom Fighter."  
Violet blushed. "Thank you, Carbine. Any time."  
Vinnie looked proud. You see? He was right (of course). Violet was ready. And she had proved herself.

A voice crackled to life on the radio. "Yo guys! Is everybody alright?"  
Carbine almost jumped out of her fur. "JAKE! I almost forgot about you! We are fine. We've got the virus and the prisoners! Mission accomplished."  
Modo, Throttle and Vinnie jumped in the air and slammed their fist against each other.  
"Biker Mice Style!"  
Carbine shook her head. Men.  
"Jake, is the rest with you?", Carbine asked.  
"Great news! And yes, the rest is with me", Jake said.  
"Good, we need an escort to take the prisoners with us."  
"We're already on our way."

Carbine looked at the group prisoners, who were standing behind her.  
"You are safe now. We will take you back to our base and give you food, clothing and medical help. If you have a place to be, then you are free to go. But please know that you guys are more than welcome on our base to regain strength."  
Jake arrived with the rest of the Freedom Fighters who had survived the battle. The group was big enough to take the prisoners with them on the bikes.  
Throttle whistled and his bike came into view, along with Modo's, Carbine's and Stoker's bike. Vinnie jumped on his bike and wrapped his tail around Violet's waist. He gently placed her behind him, holding his tail around her waist. Violet wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning with her head against his back.  
Throttle took the lead.

"Alright everybody, let's rock… and ride!" and the group drove back to base, to recover and rebuild. They all were very happy that they had won this battle, but also knew the war was far from over. There will be new battles, new missions, more heartbreaking, more sorrow. But they had each other. And that made them strong. They had something to fight for. A family. A free Mars. And to finally ride free again.

* * *

The e... No, just kidding. This isn't the end, don't you worry. Please review! :)


	21. Chapter 21

Thanks for the reviews! :D

So, here's another chapter. A little peace and quitness after all the drama. But there will be more action and drama soon. Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter twenty one**

The next few days everybody on the base was busy with cleaning up the mess from the attack to make the base livable again. The saved prisoners were in good hands with the experienced medical team. Luckily, the base was big enough to give shelter to all of them.

Gaya had survived the attack and was awake. Fortunately, she didn't appear to have any brain damage and was already out of bed. Violet was very happy her friend had made it and was okay. Somebody else also seemed very pleased about it. Modo was almost the whole time by her side, to help her recover. When Violet had asked him why he was so devoted, Modo had just waved it away with a blush on his face.  
"Somebody needs to do it and I've got the time."  
But they all could see it was more than that. Nobody asked or said it out loud though. Time would tell.

Flint didn't survived the attack. Well, that's what they were thinking. The guy was nowhere to be found. Vinnie couldn't care less. Violet had told him that Flint had apologized for his behaviour, but Vinnie didn't want to hear it. When you had crossed the line, you had crossed the line. Vinnie didn't believe in second chances. So, good riddance. Violet let it be. She knew that both of the males had a resemble character and that collided. Like two male lions who were fighting for their territory. Only one could win. And of course, that was Vinnie. No surprise there.

Finally, after a week or two of hard work, most of the traces from the attack were wiped away. The virus was carefully hidden until there was a plan how to destroy it without causing any damage. Carbine had decided to give a little party in the bar. She knew everybody could need the break after everything that had happened. They all deserved a night off. Just to have fun.

Throttle was slightly surprised that it was Carbine who came up with the idea. She was the one who normally couldn't let go of her 'work' as general. But even she needed a little break. So much had happened and there was only so much she could take. For now, at this moment, it was time to relax a little. Now they had the time, which was rare when you were living in a war. The Plutarkians were awfully quiet since the attack from the Freedom Fighters. Probably licking their wounds. Before the next disaster would occur, they needed to use this rare moment of peace and quietness.

That night everybody gathered at the bar. The ambiance was relaxed and happy. Everybody needed this break. To pretend for one night that everything was alright. That they were living a normal life, without war, chaos and disaster. They had decided to make the best of it.

Throttle, Carbine, Vinnie, Violet, Modo, Gaya, Jake and Stoker were sitting together by a table in the corner. Everybody was having a good time, especially Vinnie and Violet. Turned out that Violet had the same less self control as Vinnie. So, they both had already drank way more than the rest of the group. They were loud and having a lot of fun together. Violet was sitting on Vinnie's lap and they were laughing at something only those two lovebirds could understand.  
Throttle shook his head. They were perfect for each other. And at least they were having a good time. He looked at Carbine, who didn't even looked annoyed because of the noise that Violet and Vinnie made. She had a glittering in her eyes which Throttle hadn't seen in a long time. She was actually having fun! Who would have thought that this day would come. Then he turned his gaze at Modo, who was in a deep conversation with Gaya. The poor guy probably didn't even know that the expression on his face told everything. He was head over heels with this girl. But Gaya had the same look. Throttle could only hope that Modo finally could move on after the tragic loss of his wife all those years ago.

Violet climbed from Vinnie's lap, almost fell on the ground because of the alcohol in her system, but managed to stay on her feet. She spread her arms. "Tadaaaa! I'm going for shots, who is with me?", she yelled with a blush on her cheeks.  
Vinnie immediately responded. "Me!", as he held up his hand. Violet gave him a high five. Throttle looked at both of them, and as their leader, he couldn't help himself to ask.  
"Is that really a good idea? Seems to me you guys already had enough."  
"Oh shut up, Throttle. We don't need a babysitter. Quit spoiling the fun bro! Live a little!", Vinnie said. Throttle shook his head.  
"If living means living by your standards, then I'll pass, thank you."

Violet was already at the bar, ordering shots for everybody. A male mouse, who she recognized from the fight a few days ago, stood next to her. He gave her a appreciative look. "Hey gorgeous, can I buy you a drink?", he asked while getting closer to her and he swung his arm around Violet's shoulder. Violet gave him a dirty look and shaked his arm off her shoulders. "No thanks", and she grabbed the blade with the shots. When she turned around, the guy pinched her ass. She froze and slowly turned around. She was about to say something when the guy suddenly was yanked away from her. Unfortunately for the guy, Vinnie had seen that he was touching his girl. Without her permission. That would always flame up his anger. And the alcohol fed it. That guy really needed a lesson. Nobody was allowed to touch his girl without her permission.

Throttle saw Vinnie jump of his seat and yanking the guy away from Violet. "Oh no, here we go again…", he sighed and then raised his voice while he was getting up from his chair. "VINCENT! Don't!"  
Vinnie was about to punch the guy in the face, but his fist stopped inches from the guy's face when he heard Throttle. He lowered his hand and with reluctance, he let the guy go. Violet took him by the arm and dragged him back to the group. "It's okay, Vinnie. Let it go. He didn't hurt me."  
The guy, who first was relieved that he didn't get punched in the face, smiled arrogant.  
"Looks like your babysitter is calling for you. Better hurry, or else you will be grounded!", he laughed.  
Throttle closed his eyes and his he buried his face in his hands. "He shouldn't have said that.."  
Modo agreed. "Nope, he definitely shouldn't have said that.."

Vinnie turned around by hearing the guy and marched right at him. He clenched his fist and punched the guy knockout. He walked back to the group, an angry look on his face. He grabbed a shot and drank it empty in one sib. "Babysitter", he growled. "Pfuh! Do I look like I need a babysitter?!" He sat down again. Violet took place next to him, a little confused about what just had happened. Everybody stared at Vinnie. Vinnie looked around the table, looking slightly annoyed. "What?"  
Throttle sighed. "Never mind." He didn't want to spoil their only evening off by trying to teach his bro something about self control.  
Violet crawled on his lap again. "My hero", she giggled, obviously drunk. Vinnie kissed her and they both completely forgot their environment. Before things were getting out of hand, Modo whistled. "Yo! Get a room!"  
Vinnie raised his middle finger and without stop with kissing Violet, he scooped her in his arms and carried her outside. They could hear his bike leaving.

"Aahh, finally some peace and quietness", Carbine sighed with a smile. Normally, she couldn't stand Vinnie's sometimes childish behaviour and of course she was glad that the peace was restored, but she could feel some kind of admire towards Vinnie. How free he acted, letting go of his worries and just live in the moment. How irritating that white furred loudmouth could be sometimes, they all could learn a little from him. Not too much though. One Vinnie was enough alright.

They all enjoined the rest of the evening and smiled to themselves when Modo insisted to bring Gaya back to the base, with the excuse it wasn't safe to go alone. Gaya, who was blushing very hard, protested a little, but soon agreed with Modo.  
"I'm happy for him", Carbine said while they all watched them leave the bar. Throttle and Stoker agreed. After everything that had happened, Modo deserved to be happy. But then, didn't they all?

* * *

Oh oh, Vinnie. So hard to control. ;) Please review! :)


	22. Chapter 22

So happy with your reviews, thanks a lot! :D

So, here is the moment we have all been waiting for. Vinnie will tell his story to Violet. Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter twenty two**

The next morning, Violet woke up in Vinnie's bed. She slowly opened her eyes and felt a pounding headache. "Great", she mumbled and looked at her side to see Vinnie was still asleep. No surprise there, the guy could sleep all day. Violet smiled while looking at him. He looked so cute and young when he was asleep. His arrogant attitude nowhere to be found, his face completely relaxed. He snored loudly and rolled on his back. Violet laughed and shook her head. He was far more charming when he was awake, that's for sure.

The past few weeks were already the best weeks of her entire life. She had found out that nothing is boring when Vinnie is around. She loved it how he laughed at danger, how he made fun of everything, how he lived on the edge between obey and disobey. But he could also be very serious when she needed him and he was very protective over her. She loved the save feeling he gave her, his scent, his looks, the way he touches her, the way he looks at her, the way they have sex… They also had talked a lot the past few days. But he still didn't told her what had happened on Earth. Even if he acted like he was fine, he wasn't. Sure, she could see that opening up that day on the battlefield had helped him. That his burden wasn't so heavy anymore. But it was still there. She first had decided to give him a few days, maybe he was gonna tell it by himself. But learn to know Vinnie. He sure talked a lot, but said almost nothing. He was never gonna tell it by himself.

Violet was deep in thoughts when she suddenly realized Vinnie's eyes were open and he was looking at her.  
"Hey sweetheart, you okay? You have that frown on your face again," he said with a hoarse voice from the alcohol last night.  
Violet smiled. It seemed Vinnie did also a good job in getting to know her too. She decided to be honest.  
"Morning cutie. I'm fine, just thinking. I realized you still didn't told me what happened on Earth…", she said with caution, she didn't know how he would react. Maybe a morning with a hangover wasn't the best time to ask.  
Vinnie's face darkened. He still didn't want to talk about it. But he knew it wasn't fair to hold it for himself. He had promised that he would tell her. He took a deep breath and looked into Violet's green eyes.  
"It's not a pretty story, sweetheart. Sure you want to hear it?"  
Violet nodded. "Yeah. It will help me to understand you. I'm here for you and I wanna help you. I can see you are still upset. But I need to know what happened. So I can be a better help to you. Plus, it's not healthy to keep it all inside."  
Vinnie sighed, rolled on his back and stared at the ceiling. Violet wrapped her tail around his, to let him know she was there for him and waited patiently.

Vinnie cleared his throat.  
"Well, it actually all started when I met Harley years ago. She was a medic and mechanic for the Freedom Fighters. She was a fighter and also very pretty. I liked her from the first moment I laid my eyes on her. Slowly, we began to grow closer to each other. She gave me this when I got hurt pretty bad because of an explosion", he tapped with his fingers on the metal at the right side of his face. "She understood that I was in pain, not physically, but emotionally. My looks are important. They are all I have. Next to great skills of course… But she understood. That made her even more special.." Vinnie smiled a little sad. Violet was not really surprised to hear this. She already had thought that Vinnie was hiding behind his looks and skills. And underneath, a soft and loyal side, maybe even a little insecure.

"The day we had destroyed the tug transformer, we finally came together. Sort off. It was the beginning of something beautiful. But then that traitor took her away from me. I only had left her alone for one minute and there was Mace. He grabbed Harley and poof… They were gone. He probably used some kind of transporter. I've tried to stop him, but I was too late." Vinnie gritted his teeth. He could still hear Mace his voice. 'Something to remember me by, mousies!' That lying piece of sh… Vinnie felt a squeeze in his tail and that brought him back.

"Right. I ehh.. I was devastated. He took away the only girl I ever had loved in my life and of course, I blamed myself. I couldn't protect her. I was too late. We searched for months, but it was no use. She was gone. And I needed to move on with my life, so I was told. So I did, but I always had the feeling that some part of me died that day. Until we crashed on Earth and I met Charley…" Vinnie swallowed and Violet crawled over to him and lay her head on his chest. She never had heard Vinnie talk so open about his feelings. She said nothing, gave him time to find the strength to continue his story. Vinnie could feel his chest tighten again when he said Charley's name. He felt the sudden urge to run away. But deep down, he knew that wasn't gonna solve anything. Plus, Violet had the right to know. To know how he had failed.

"When we crashed at Earth, our spaceship flew into the scoreboard from a football stadion. There was a game going on at the time and we landed with our bikes in the middle of the field. I thought it was a nice welcome reception, but Throttle didn't liked it at all. He didn't want to cause any trouble on a planet we weren't familiar with. We drove through the city, didn't know where to go. Being stuck on a planet you don't know is so not cool. But the place somehow felt familiar. Parts of the city were ruined, just like Mars. But then, on top of it al, Throttle's bike got a busted gyro. We saw a garage and I scooped it out. That's when I saw Charley for the first time. She was fighting with a huge guy who was leaking oil, I know, weird and disgusting. The guy was trying to take the garage away from her. Later on, we found out his name was Greasepit and he worked for a Plutarkian slimeball named Limburger."

While Vinnie was talking, he suddenly realized it gave him some sort of good feeling to tell all this. He never spoke with anyone about his time on Earth and it was somehow… refreshing. All those memories. Good and bad. It was nice to share it with someone. He realized he stopped talking and looked at Violet. She lay with her head on his chest with her face towards him. She smiled. "Take your time, I know it's hard."  
Vinnie knew she really understood how he felt. After all, her story wasn't a pretty one either.  
"Well, my idea was to impress this human woman with me being the hero and all, who saved her from the bad guy. Unfortunately, I slipped and slammed into a wall. My bro's took care of the rest. It was embarrassing, really." He smiled sheepishly at the memorie, with a little blush on his cheeks.

"Charley never had seen Martian Mice or any alien, so at first she was a little scared of us. But Throttle explained everything and to convince her, he did his mind trick stuff, showed her our story. After that, we became good friends with her. She helped us to find a place to hide, since our ship was toasted. The scoreboard became our hideout. She upgraded our bikes, gave us food, helped with missions against Limburger. She really cared you know? Not only about her own planet, but she cared for Mars and our species. She was always on the front row to help us, even if we had already told her a thousand times it was too dangerous. She never listened though."  
"That sounds really familiar. I begin to understand why you liked her so much", Violet said with a smile.

Vinnie chuckled. "Yeah, she really was amazing. Without her, we would have died on that planet. I started to develop feelings for her. It was a little weird at first, because she was a human and I'm obviously not. I tried to push it away, but it was no use. After the devastating loss of Harley, I finally felt that life could become better. I saw the light again, instead of the darkness. We flirted a lot, but always kept our distance. I didn't know if she was feeling the same way, she didn't give it away. But there was no rush. 'I will tell her someday', I always thought. Maybe I thought we had all the time of the world. But when the day was there, it wasn't like I had pictured it at all…" Vinnie felt silent and stared at the ceiling.  
Violet could feel that his heart was began to beat faster and his breathing heavier. She lifted up her head. "Listen Vinnie, if it's too much…"  
But Vinnie shook his head.  
"You have the right to know, sweetheart. And if I don't tell it now, I probably never will."  
Violet lay her head back on his chest.

"The day that changed everything, that destroyed another part of me, began like a day as usual. We stopped Limburger and destroyed his tower like we always did. When we were on our way to Charley at the garage, I saw Karbunkle on a roof close to the garage. He was holding a bazooka. Karbunkle was the crazy doctor who worked for Limburger", Vinnie said when he saw the confusing look on Violet's face.

"We saw him and he saw us. He didn't say anything, he only smiled. That was weird, since the guy always had a speech prepared to tell us how good he was and what he had invented this time to destroy us. I could feel that things were getting pretty ugly, but my body froze. Can you imagine? Moi? Yeah. I froze. It all happened so fast. He fired that rocket and blew up the whole garage. And there was me, doing nothing. Dammit, how much I hate myself when I think back at that moment.." Vinnie took a deep breath.

"I think at that moment, I could feel how strong the emotion fear is. I raced to the garage and began to search for Charley. Modo found her. He cried when he saw her. I didn't. I couldn't. I could only stare at her and the same thing repeated over and over in my head. 'You couldn't save her. You were too late. You failed. AGAIN!' I think after that I literally lost my mind. The anger turned into rage, the rage into pure hate. All I could think off was that Limburger had to pay. And he did. I killed him and that stupid doctor. Carbine dragged us back to Mars and gave me the task to train you guys. As some sort of punishment." Vinnie was surprised with himself. He'd never talked so much about his adventures and his feelings. It was very hard, but actually not so bad as he always had thought.

Violet stroked his chest, following the lines of his muscles with her finger.  
"Vinnie, I am so sorry. I know how hard it is to lose someone you love. And you lost two important people. And that is devastating. But it wasn't your fault. Although I would probably feel the same way if I were you. I understand you think that you have failed. But you didn't. There was nothing you could have done."

Vinnie gently took her her hand and kissed it.  
"The biggest mistake I made was letting Charley become close to me. She was in danger because of me. I dragged her into our war."  
Violet shook her head.  
"No. Vinnie, she had a choice. There is always a choice. She choose to stay with you guys and was putting her own life at risk. I don't want to sound insensitive, but it's not fair that you to take the whole responsibility for what happened. It was also her own responsibility. It's not that you forced her into your war. She choose for it", she said firmly.

Vinnie narrowed his eyes. His first reaction was to defend Charley, but the words didn't come. He realized that Violet was right. He never had thought about it that way. But she was right.  
"Your point is well taken. You know, I vowed to myself and Charley that I would never ever let anyone become close to me again. To be alone for the rest of my life. To avoid I would fail someone again. Then I met you. And it turned out it was very hard to keep my distance. You have Charley's eyes, you know? I immediately felt something when I saw you and looked into your beautiful eyes. But I tried to ignore it. Even tried to push you away, but you wouldn't let me. When the base was attacked, the only thing I could think about was you. It made me realize how much you meant to me and that I was beginning to make the same mistake again. What can I say, I'm a stubborn mouse. But I've lost both Harley and Charley without even telling them how much I loved them. And the thought that was gonna happen again… I couldn't stand it. I didn't want to fail someone again. And thankfully, this time I wasn't too late. And then you overwon your trauma just to save me and I knew. I knew that must be love. I truly believe we belong together. So… now you know..."

Violet felt a warm feeling inside. She now completely understood why he had behaved like had done. Poor Vinnie. His life definitely wasn't a straight road. But thank god, he had came to senses.

"I think I love you, Vincent van Wham", she blurted out. Her eyes grew big when she realized what she just had said. Maybe it was too soon to say this out loud. But Vinnie smiled and held her tightly.  
"I think I love you too, Violet Brooks."

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Ahhh, so cute! Please review! :)


	23. Chapter 23

At first, I'm having some problems with uploading documents. I'm not the only one I saw on Twitter.  
So, I've decided to change the document with chapter two and add it to my story as chapter twenty three. I hope it's gonna work.

Thanks for the reviews! I understand what you are saying with Vinnie and Violet became a couple quickly after Charley died, but hey, when it's meant to be, it's meant to be. :)

* * *

 **Chapter twenty three**

The two love birds spend the whole day in bed. They talked, made love, talked again, made love again… When it was dark outside, Violet stretched and yawned.  
"Damn, I'm lazy…".  
Vinnie nodded. "Same here. I really could use a good ride right now. Coming?" and he offered his hand.  
Violet hesitated. "Aren't we supposed to stay at the base when it's dark?", she asked, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she smiled. Yeah. It's Vinnie we're talking about. Like he is gonna do what he is told. Vinnie smiled back. "Oh you know me so well. Let's go, sweetheart. You got nothing to worry about. I'll protect you." And Violet knew he would. She took his hand and he helped her out of bed. They got dressed and sneaked through the hallway to Vinnie's bike.

"I thought Biker Mice didn't sneak?", Violet asked innocent. Vinnie shook his head. "Only when we don't have a choice."  
When they heard footsteps, Vinnie dragged her around a corner. Modo and Gaya walked through the hallway, holding hands. Violet tried not to giggle. She was happy for them, but this sneaking just made her laughable. Vinnie held a finger for his mouth, but was smiling too. He loved it that they were so similar. Doing things against the rules. Yep, they truly belonged together.  
When Modo and Gaya were gone, Vinnie dragged Violet with him to his bike. They jumped on it and Vinnie quickly drove outside, full speed. They didn't see that someone was looking at them and was saying something into a radio.

Violet held her arms tightly around Vinnie's waist. She didn't get scared that easily, but the speed with which Vinnie drove made her feel dizzy. She trusted him, though. He knew how to ride a bike, even was very good at it. But still…  
Vinnie snickered when he felt how tight Violet was holding him. "Scared, sweetheart?", he asked.  
Violet swallowed. "No way", she said, trying to sound nonchalant. Vinnie didn't buy it. "Sure?", he asked as he hit the accelerator and jumped off a cliff. Violet screamed, almost flying of his bike. But his tail hold her on her place. Vinnie was laughing out loud. When the tires hit the ground, Violet smacked with her head against his back because off the hard landing. "VINNIE! Do that again and I swear…"  
Vinnie laughed even harder. "And then what?"  
"Then it will be you life that's on the line!", Violet yelled.  
"Promises, promises…" Vinnie couldn't stop laughing. It was such a nice sound to hear him laugh, after everything they had been through. Violet couldn't help herself but laugh too. She couldn't stay mad at him.

Vinnie drove up a hill and stopped his bike on top of it. Violet climbed of with wobbling legs and pulled of her helmet. "How have you lived this long?", she wondered. Vinnie pulled of his helmet and smiled his trademark smile. "Cause I'm the baddest mamma jammer from the universe!"  
Violet shook her head. "Can't deny that", she mumbled.  
Vinnie sat down on the ground with his back against his bike. Violet took place next to him. Vinnie looked up at the sky. It was full with stars.  
"This place… I came here a lot when I was young. Before the war. It's the best spot on Mars for stargazing", he said.  
Violet was amazed by the view. "It's beautiful!", she breathed.  
Vinnie swung his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. "Only the best for my girl", he said and he kissed her.  
Violet wrapped her arms around his neck. She loved this mouse so much. It was almost scary. She never had felt how strong love could be.

Vinnie deepened the kiss and he pulled Violed on his lap. Slowly, he lay her down on her back, with him on top of her. He leaned on his elbows and broke off the kiss. He looked down at her and gave her a cocky grin. "This feels like we've been here before", and he wiggled his eyebrows, referring to their first meeting. Violet laughed and Vinnie stared at her. She was so beautiful. The glance in her eyes. She looked so happy. He still couldn't believe she was his. Of course, he still felt guilty about Charley. But deep down, he knew Charley would want him to be happy. To move on, not throwing away his life.  
"I love you", he whispered. Violet looked back into his ruby red eyes.  
"I love you too", and she kissed him again.

Suddenly, Vinnie's bike revved her engine. Vinnie froze and looked up, but before they understood what was going on, Vinnie got yanked away from Violet.  
"Vinnie!", Violet yelled and jumped at her feet. Two big Plutarkians were holding the struggling Vinnie. Violet looked around. They were completely surrounded. She felt two pair of hands grabbing her.  
"No! Let me go!", she yelled.  
Vinnie struggled even harder. "Let her go! Now!", he roared in anger.  
"No way, mousie! You gave us a lot of trouble. First Limburger, then the attack which YOU were leading. You are so gonna regret it", one of the soldiers said, avoiding Vinnie's tail, which was lashing in anger.  
"She had nothing to do with that, so let her go!" Vinnie tried to get free, but they were too strong.  
"Oh no. That is not gonna happen. She is your weakness. So, you can watch how we kill her. I figured that would be a good start for making you pay. Did you really believe in a happy ending, mousie?"  
Vinnie's blood turned cold. No, no, no… He stopped struggling.  
"Please, don't hurt her… I'll do anything, but please… Let her go…"  
The Plutarkian laughed at his pleading. "See? Weakness."

Vinnie looked at Violet, which was looking back desperately. But then, he winked at her and whistled through his teeth. "Atta bike! Fry them!"  
His bike revved her engine and the cannons popped out. She drove straight to Violet and shot the two soldiers who were holding her. But the others returned fire. Violet ducked and looked at Vinnie. He had despair written on his face. He yelled at his bike. "Take Violet and GO!" The bike drove to Violet and she jumped on. Before she could say anything, the bike drove full speed away from the fire fight.

No, Vinnie! Violet turned her head to see one of the soldiers hit Vinnie so hard that he fell on the ground. He didn't stand up. Violet cried. No… She grabbed the handlebars and tried to turn the bike, but it was no use. The bike didn't respond.  
"We need to go back! We need to help him!", Violet yelled hysterical. The bike beeped angry, but didn't turn around. Her owner had gave her an order and she obeyed. Not that she liked it, but she didn't have a choice.

Violet was screaming and crying, hitting on the bike. "GO BACK, you stupid thing!" but nothing worked. There was nothing Violet could do to help Vinnie. The bike was driving too fast to jump off. Violet stopped hitting and gave up. The sooner they were back at the base, the better. She needed help to find Vinnie and bring him back, before it was too late.

* * *

Please review! :)


	24. Chapter 24

Thanks for the review(s)!

* * *

 **Chapter twenty four**

When they arrived at the base, the bike flew inside. Violet jumped off before the bike came to an halt, but in her hurry she tripped. She fell on the ground and her head slammed on the ground. Because of the hurry of her leave, she didn't wear a helmet. She lay dazed on the ground and touched her head. She saw blood on her fingers. She could feel it streaming down her face. But then the panic hit again and she scrambled at her feet. The world was spinning, but she managed to get in the hallway. She had to move on. The thought of Vinnie in the hands of those sick Plutarkians… Violet could feel a panic attack coming. Her breathing was going faster and faster. She stumbled through the hallway.  
"Help…", she screamed, but the only thing that came out was a soft whisper. Where is everybody? Why was nobody helping her? She fell on her knees, grabbed her head with hands. She inhaled. "HELP ME!" This time her voice worked. The high tone of her panic echoed against the walls. She bent over, hyperventilating. The world was starting to fade. Suddenly two tan coloured hands grabbed her wrists. "Violet! Are you… What's wrong? You're bleeding!"  
She recognized Throttle's voice. She lifted her head and looked into his eyes (well, glasses). She couldn't speak, her breathing rapid. Tears were filling her eyes.  
"Okay, Violet. Calm down. Breathe!" Throttle fell on his knees in front of her. He grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him again. The panic in her wide eyes struck him with fear. There's something with wrong with Vinnie. It has to be. That could be the only reason why she was so upset. Throttle forced himself to stay calm. He needed to know what was wrong.  
"Violet, breathe with me. Inhale…" he inhaled through his nose "...and exhale." And he let his breath escape through his mouth. Violet tried, but was too panicked.  
"Violet, try to calm down. Inhale… and exhale…" Throttle kept repeating it over and over again. Finally, Violet calmed down enough to use her voice again.  
"They… They… Vinnie… I escaped… hit him… his bike didn't listen, I...I…", she stuttered. Throttle gently took her hands. "I don't understand a word you are saying. Slow down and start from the beginning."

Violet took a deep, shaky breath.  
"We were attacked. They grabbed Vinnie and me. Vinnie gave his bike the order to save me and the bike drove us back to the base. I saw they were hitting him. He didn't stand up, I… I wanted to go back, but the bike didn't listen. I tripped when I jumped of his bike, so that's why I'm bleeding."  
Throttle's worry grew. This was not good.  
"Why were you guys outside?", he asked.  
"We were stargazing and… Does it matter? They took him! They are gonna kill him!" Violet's panic came back.  
Throttle looked her in the eye.  
"Yes, it matters. Did they say anything?"  
"Yeah, something about Limburger and the last attack which Vinnie was leading, that he was gonna regret it. They wanted to kill me in front of him, because I'm his weak spot… Why are we still here? We need to go save him!" She tried to stand up. Throttle stopped her.  
"Listen to me, Violet. This is important. It sounds like they knew you guys were there, that they were looking for Vinnie. This was planned. How did they know?"  
Violet shook her head, confused.  
"I don't know what you mean, I…" Her eyes grew big when she understood what Throttle was trying to say. "You mean there's someone at the base who works for the Plutarkians?"  
The thought of such a terrible act of betrayal made her feel nauseous. Throttle nodded. "We need to find the rest, talk about a plan to find Vinnie." He stood up.  
Violet did the same and grabbed his arm, looking at him with anger and frustration.  
"What do you mean, talk? You guys need to come with me! NOW! We need to save him!"  
"Violet, I know. But going without any sort of plan could kill Vinnie. We need to be prepared. You go to the medical room and get that wound cleaned, okay?"  
Violet shook her head, feeling dizzy. "No, I am not! I need to find him!"  
"Violet…" Throttle started, but Violet interrupted him.  
"I can't live without him, okay!? If he dies, my life ends too, you understand?" Throttle grabbed her shoulders.  
"Violet, I do understand. He is also very important to me, he is my BRO. And we are going to save him, trust me. But we'll do it my way."  
Violet saw the determination on his face and could hear it in his voice. She knew he was right. Vinnie meant a lot to him too. He will give everything to make sure they would get Vinnie out alive.  
"Okay… Okay. Fine", Violet nodded.  
"Good. Go to the medics for that wound and come to Carbine's office when you are done. Be prepared to leave soon after that."

Violet agreed and walked unsteady to the medic room. Throttle quickly ran to Carbine's office. He burst inside. Carbine looked up from her papers with a surprised look on her face. Throttle closed the door and turned around.  
"We got problems. The Plutarkians got Vinnie."  
Carbine was shocked. "Wait, what? How did that happen? Were they here? Why wasn't I informed?" and she stood up.  
Throttle shook his head. "No, not here. He was outside with Violet. She escaped because of his bike."  
Carbine's eyes flamed in anger. "They were outside?! How… Never mind. It's Vinnie. I know. Dammit, that stubborn mouse. Why does he never listen?!"  
Throttle shrugged. "Like you said, it's Vinnie. It's just the way he is. We need to go find him. They are going to kill him."  
"Okay, I know. Of course we are going to get him. It would be way too quiet around here without that goofball. Tell me everything you know."  
Throttle told her everything he knew so far. Carbine froze.  
"So we have a traitor in our midst…"  
"It seems like it. We will find him. But first, we need to find Vinnie. I really don't want to lose my bro, Carbine. He is my family."  
Carbine nodded firmly. "You are not going to lose your bro. Gather Modo, Stoker, Gaya, Jake and Violet. She need to show us where they took Vinnie. Let's go find him."

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Please review! :)


	25. Chapter 25

Thanks again for the reviews! Nope, no break when you're in war. Poor Vinnie.

Here's the next one, a little tense one, sorry!

* * *

 **Chapter twenty five**

Vinnie stirred. He felt a pounding headache. He slowly opened his eyes. Why was he lying on the ground and why was it so cold? He slowly got up. "What did I drink last night?", he moaned. He looked around and saw dark, filthy walls. Bars in the door. He was in a cell. Suddenly, everything came back. Violet… Thank the Mothers of Mars, she escaped. Now it was time for him to find a way out of here. Vinnie climbed on his feet. His head was killing him. They sure packed a serious punch. He walked to the bars. With the tip of his tail he quickly touched them. A little spark, and a electric jolt through his body.  
"Typical", he mumbled. He grabbed a flair. Well, he tried. But his bandoleers were gone, just like his gun.  
"Great." Since when were they so smart? How did they know he carried flairs with him? Usually they didn't notice. He peeked through the bars. He saw a hallway and two guards. Where the hell did they bring him? Vinnie paced around in his cell, feeling angry and frustrated. How could he be so stupid? Why didn't he saw them coming? Why were they after him? Was it really because of Limburger? Pfff… Limburger was outcast, spit out by his own species. Well, whatever the reason was, he needed to get out of here. But how?

A door slammed and a big, ugly fish appeared before his cell.  
"So, I see that you're awake."  
Vinnie rolled his eyes. "Wauw, your observability is astonishing. So tell me, why am I here?"  
The Plutarkian smiled. "Such a big mouth. Soon you will wish you were never born, then we'll talk again. My name is Captain Knife, but call me Buddy."  
Vinnie laughed. "Captain Knife? Really? Wauw, your life must suck… Buddy…"  
Buddy shook his head. "Well, actually it is your life that is about to suck. Guards, grab him."

The door opened and the two guards came into Vinnie's cell. Vinnie clenched his fists and was ready to attack, but one of the guards poked him with some kind of stick. He could feel his muscles spasm because of the electricity and his legs collapsed. He tried to fight it, but he couldn't. All he could do was lying helplessly on the floor, his body shaking. The guard put on handcuffs and picked the white mouse from the floor. He dragged him out of his cell. Vinnie tried to look around, finding any escape route or a clue how to get out of here. But his body was failing on him. He couldn't move his head. They dragged him to a room with chains hanging on the ceiling. The smell of blood was overwhelming. The guards lifted up his hands and attached the cuffs to the chains. They also chained his feet and his tail together. The effects from the shocks were ebbing away, Vinnie could move his body again. Well, if he wasn't chained up. He struggled, but it was no use. Buddy entered the room with a evil smile on his face.  
"Welcome to my playroom. Were about to have so much fun together."  
Vinnie rolled his eyes and gave him an innocent look. "Do you need to know my stopword?" and he wiggled his eyebrows.  
Buddy laughed. "You're funny. No, no stopwords. You don't have anything to say about our little game. Well now, the rules. I ask questions, you answer them. If you don't, or giving the wrong answer, well... " He showed a mean looking whip.  
Vinnie laughed. "Yeah well, you are not gonna crack this mouse. Now way I am telling you anything. Do you like playing the big, tough guy against somebody who is chained up? Why don't set me free, and fight like a man! Or well.. fish.."  
"Ahhh a tough one. Those are the most fun to crack. So tell me, where is the virus?"  
Vinnie couldn't help himself. He laughed again. "So that is where this is all about? That stupid virus? And why do you think I even know where it is? I'm just a soldier."  
"Wrong answer. Everybody knows you are way more than just a soldier." Buddy raised his hand and the whip landed on Vinnie's back with full force. Vinnie could feel the whip cut in his flesh, but gritted his teeth. He was not gonna scream. He was not gonna give that stupid, ugly fish the satisfaction.  
"Nice feeling, right? Again. Where is the virus?"  
Vinnie gasped. "As far as I know, it's destroyed." He knew it wasn't, but no way he was gonna tell him. The whip landed on his back again. He flinched, but didn't make a sound.  
"Where is the virus? And don't act stupid, you leaded the attack on the building."  
Vinnie suddenly got angry, feeling almost ashamed to be in this humiliating situation. He spit on the ground.  
"I am not gonna tell you anything, you ugly slime ball! You will have to kill me. I don't do snitching. So, why don't you go FUCK yourself!" He struggled against his chains and let out a stream of all the curse words he knew in Martian.  
That resulted in three hard claps on his back. He could feel the blood streaming down from his back to his legs. The whip landed on his back over and over again. The pain was so overwhelming, Vinnie couldn't stop himself, no matter how hard he tried. He opened his mouth and screamed.

Violet left the medic room. She had ten stitches in her head and the nurse had said she needed rest. But no way Violet would listen. The only thing was in her head was Vinnie. She needed to find him. Thankfully, she wasn't that dizzy anymore. But her head was pounding. She ran to Carbine's office, but right before she was at the door, it suddenly opened. She bumped into Modo. "Violet! Are you okay?", he asked with worry. Violet couldn't answer, she didn't want to cry again. Modo took her in a tight hug. "We will find him, Violet. Trust me, we will get him back."  
Throttle and Carbine joined them. "Violet, you need to take us to the place where they took Vinnie", Carbine said while they walked to the bikes. Gaya, Jake and Stoker were already there. Violet climbed on Vinnie's bike. "I'm not sure if I can remember it, but Sweetheart knows. Don't you?" Vinnie bike was beeping and revved her engine.  
"Okay, can you take us there?"  
The bike turned and sped out. Violet almost fell off, but grabbed the handlebars tightly. "Okay girl, let's go find Vinnie!" The rest of the group followed them.  
Vinnie's bike took the same route as before and jumped off the cliff again. But this time, Violet barely noticed. All she could think of was Vinnie. She felt like she was cursed. Everytime she felt happiness, something happened and she was dragged back into the world of fear and death. That fucking war…  
Violet felt the bike was slowing down and she looked up. Yes, this was the place. This time she waited till the bike stopped before she jumped off. The rest stopped behind her and climbed of their bikes. Violet walked to the top.  
"We were sitting here and suddenly we were surrounded."  
Throttle stood beside her, rubbing his chin. There were signs of struggles in the red sand, and also tracks from multiple vehicles. He followed one of the tracks and saw they all came together at one point. "Looks like they drove in that direction. Let's follow the tracks."  
Everybody jumped on their bikes and did what Throttle said. Violet was taking the lead, with a frown on her face.

After driving for a while, Throttle signed them to stop.  
"According to the direction of the tracks, they took him to South Mars…"  
Carbine gasped. "No… you don't mean?"  
Violet, who didn't have a clue where they were talking about, raised her voice. "What? What are you talking about?"  
Throttle slowly turned around and faced her. "I think they took him to Mortem... "  
Violet still didn't understand. "So?"  
Throttle hesitated, but knew he had to tell her. Knew he had to be honest to her. "It's one of the worst places on Mars. It's reserved for the most wanted mice on Mars. Most of the prisoners never leave, unless they are dead. But before they die, they are tortured on the most gruesome ways…"  
Violet stared at him. "No… no…" Tears welled up in her eyes.

Throttle grabbed her shoulders. "We WILL get him out, you hear me? Even if it's the last thing I do!"

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Oh oh... Please review! :)


	26. Chapter 26

Thanks for the reviews! I took me a couple of days before I was able to read them, since there was a problem with the site. But thankfully, today I could finally read them. :)

Next chapter, and again.. A little tense one...

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 **Chapter twenty six**

Vinnie was lying on his belly on the ground of his cell. He couldn't lay on his back. The pain was immens. Everytime he moved a muscle, the pain jolted through his whole body. He gritted his teeth. He was so angry. He felt so humiliated. The fact that he was helpless made him even more angry. There was nothing he could do. He suddenly realized that he was probably gonna die in here. Nobody knew where he was. Heck, even he didn't know. At least Violet was safe. That was the most important. His stomach roared, reminding him how hungry he was. His throat was dry as a bone. Swallowing was difficult. He punched his fist on the ground in anger. His knuckles started to bleed but he didn't care. It was nothing compared to the pain in his back. Dammit. He hated it to feel so helpless. The only thing he could do right now was hope, no, pray that his bro's were gonna find hem before it is too late.

Violet and the rest of the group arrived close by Mortem. It was a weird looking building, with towers and half hidden in a cave. It didn't have a fence like the previous building they had attacked, but security was high. Heavily armed guards were walking around. Violet looked at all this and felt her hope fading away. How on Mars were they gonna get Vinnie out of there? She looked desperately at Throttle. He had the same look of despair on his face.  
"Please tell me it's gonna work. Please tell me there is a way to get him out..", Violet begged, tears streaming over her face. Throttle sighed. "I… I don't know Violet. We can't just burst in. It would kill us all… including Vinnie. We need to think about this."  
Carbine had a thoughtful frown on her face. "Guys! The virus! We could use the virus!"  
Everybody looked at her. "And how are we gonna do that?", Modo asked.  
"Listen. When you are infected with the virus, you got sick, right? So that will weaken the guards and will not be able to stop us. We go in and grab Vinnie", Carbine said, thinking out loud. But when she was saying the words, she felt there were to many buts in this plan. The others felt it too.  
"And how do you plan to infect the guards?", Throttle asked.  
"We need to put in a sedation arrow. We shoot it and viola, they are infected. Then we'll wait till it works."  
"And how long is that gonna take? It's not like Vinnie is in some spa resort. He doesn't have that much time!", Violet said with frustration in her voice.  
"And what about the guards inside?", Gaya asked.  
Carbine sighed. "Violet, I know that alright? I know we need to be quick. I'm just trying to find a way to get in. And Gaya, good question… Maybe we can threaten them with infecting them with the virus if they don't cooperate."  
Stoker shook his head. "Sorry Carbine, but it's too dangerous. We don't know how many fish are inside. This plan have too many holes in it."

Jake rubbed his chin. "You know, maybe the virus takes too long before it works, but what about a tranquilizer? One that works fast? If we can shoot it from a distant, they are out cold fast. We can do the same inside. It's quit, no explosions…"  
Stoker patted him on the back. "Jake, you keep surprising me. That's a great idea! I think the nurses on the base have those tranquilizers. I can transform our guns, so we can shoot with the arrows. Also build a damper on it, so they don't hear us."  
Carbine and Throttle nodded. "Okay, back to base to prepare", Throttle said. But Violet shook her head. "No. That's gonna take to much time. What if we are too late?"  
To everybody's surprise, Carbine took Violet's hands.  
"Listen Vi, I know how you feel. I would feel the same way if it was Throttle who was in that building. But you need to trust us. We can think about this more rational than you. You are overwhelmed by emotions. And I understand that. But if we act out of emotion, we are gonna make mistakes. Mistakes that will take lives. Like Vinnie's. Just trust us, okay?" and she pulled Violet into a tight hug. Violet held her tightly. "Thank you, Carbine. And okay, I'll trust you."  
Carbine let her go and smiled. "Good. Well, back to base to regroup. And then we will get Vinnie out of here! Let's ride!"

Meanwhile in the dark and cold dungeon from Mortem, Vinnie was finally able to get some sleep. It took him a lot of strength to ignore the pain and relax a little. But just when he had finally drifted off, the door slammed again. Vinnie woke up again with a startl. Buddy stood for his cell. "Wakey wakey! Time for round two, tough one!"  
Vinnie growled. "Leave me alone, I have nothing to say to you."  
Buddy clapped in his hands. "Guards, get him."  
Vinnie didn't resisted. He couldn't. The pain in his back was killing him. They cuffed him again and brought him to the 'playroom'. This time there was a table in the middle of the room. They threw Vinnie on his back on the table and Vinnie moaned in pain. The guards tied him to the table with leather belts. When they were done, Vinnie wasn't able to move his hands and feet. But he noticed they had forgotten to chain his tail. He lay his tail next to his leg, to make it look like it was also chained. Buddy came in and smiled. "Well, well, well. Look who is all ready and excited?"  
"Yeah… sure… Never been so excited in my entire life. Whoopidoo", Vinnie responded sarcastic.  
"You see, I figured something out. You're a tough, good looking mouse. You also have an ego bigger as this building. But what are you hiding behind that mask on your face?", he asked and grinned evil when Vinnie immediately started to struggle.  
"No way man, don't you dare to touch it. You keep your filthy hands of it, you hear me?", Vinnie yelled, feeling panic. He knew he had to play cool, but he couldn't. If Buddy would take off his mask, expose him, he was going crazy.  
Buddy ignored him. He walked to Vinnie's head and lay a hand on the mask.  
"Then tell me, where is the virus?"  
Vinnie struggled. "I don't know! The plan was to destroy it! That's everything I know, alright!?"  
Buddy shook his head. "Wrong answer… again!" and he pulled a finger under Vinnie's mask.  
"NO!" Vinnie's tail lashed through the air and hit Buddy right in the face. The ugly fish stumbled back and when he looked up, a red stripe was visible on his face.  
"You are so gonna regret that!" and he grabbed Vinnie's tail with two hands. In one movement, he broke it, like he was breaking a stick. *KNACK*  
Vinnie screamed in pain and anger. "You fucking son of a bitch!"  
Buddy chained the broken tail with Vinnie's feet. Vinnie was breathing heavily and tears from pain filled his eyes. My pride and joy…

"Well, where were we? Ooohh, I remember!" and he pulled of Vinnie's mask. The right side of the face from the white mouse was full with scars. The hair almost completely gone, but on some places small stripes off white fur.  
"Oh my… I understand why you are hiding it. If everybody could see what kind of monster you are… Well, I guess you didn't had such a beautiful girlfriend then! Who would want you?" and Buddy smiled.  
Vinnie went ballistic. The feeling alone from the air touching the bare skin on his face, was enough for him to crack. He felt naked. Humiliated. Ugly. A monster. He tried to get loose, struggling so hard that he could feel the wounds on his back were starting to bleed again, but he didn't care. He needed to get free, to hide his face. To get away from this horrible place. To hide in the shadows. He screamed until his throat was raw. He struggled until the leather belts were cutting in his flesh. But it was no use.  
Buddy waited till the mouse calmed down. "Hmmm, must have hit a sore spot. Are you done?"  
Vinnie spit in his face. "You wait! Wait until I'm free again and I will destroy you! End your miserable life! Mark my words, you are gonna pay for this! One way or another! You are messing with the wrong mouse!"  
Buddy wiped off his face and grabbed the white mouse by his throat. He squeezed so hard, that Vinnie wasn't able to breathe. "You still don't understand it, right? So stubborn. You are gonna DIE in here. Eventually."  
Vinnie struggled to get air, but right before he passed out, Buddy let him go. Vinnie gasped for air, coughing loud. He suddenly didn't have the energy anymore to fight back. Buddy was right. He was gonna die in here… He saw the image of Violet. Her sparkling eyes, her happy face.

 _"I think I love you, Vincent van Wham"._

He heard her husky voice in his head, saying those words. He couldn't give up. He must keep fighting. He didn't want to leave Violet. He loved her too much. Vinnie gritted his teeth. Maybe he was gonna die in here. Maybe. But not without a fight. He would do anything to have her in his arms again.

"This is getting boring, but again. Where is the virus?" Buddy asked. Vinnie shook his head, hating the naked feeling it gave him without his mask.  
"How many times do I need to say it?! Are you stupid?! Do I need to spell it out for you? I DON'T KNOW! And even if I did, I would never tell you!"  
Buddy sighed, acting like he was feeling sorry for what he was about to do. "Okay, your choice." He grabbed a sharp looking scalpel and made a deep cut in Vinnie's face, right through the scars. Vinnie moaned. This was too much. His body had enough. There was only that much he could take. He felt he was fading away and the world became black.

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Oh my, poor Vinnie. Please review! :)


	27. Chapter 27

Thanks for the reviews! I do re-read my chapters before I upload them, sometimes multiple times. But my concentration isn't at the best right now. So yeah, some typo's and small grammatical mistakes will slip through. I'm sorry about that. But I'm doing the best I can. :)

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 **Chapter twenty seven**

At the base, it took them the whole night and day to prepare the attack on Mortem. But finally, they were ready to go. Throttle, Carbine, Modo, Gaya, Stoker, Jake and Violet were riding on front. Behind them, a large group of Freedom Fighters. The plan was that the group stayed outside on safe distant, ready to help when they were needed. The leading group was going inside after they had sedated the guards outside. They all had one gun with enough arrows to sedate a whole army. Once inside, Throttle, Modo and Violet were going to get Vinnie, with Stoker, Carbine, Gaya and Jake having their backs. Jake had found a map from the building and they'd figured out they were keeping Vinnie in the dungeons. Fortunately, the building wasn't that big. So there was actually a big chance of success. Unless they were too late. But they all pushed that thought away.

They arrived at Mortem and splitted up. Throttle and Carbine drove to the right side of the building, Modo and Gaya to the left. Stoker, Jake and Violet took the front. When everybody was in position, Throttle spoke into his radio.  
"Okay, on my mark. One… two… three!"  
Everybody pointed their guns at a guard and pulled the trigger. With a soft plop, the arrows flew out of the guns. The guards who got hit, jumped at the sudden sting they felt, but collapsed before they could understand what was happening. The others looked surprised, but soon followed. When all the guards were down, the group came together by the entrance.  
"Good, fase one of the plan worked", Throttle said, looking around. "According to the nurses, the sedative works for about two hours. Enough time for us to grab Vinnie and get the hell out of here. Everybody ready?" The group nodded.  
"Okay. Modo and Violet, you are coming with me. We will go in first. The rest will have our back. Let's rock… and ride!"

Throttle took the lead with Modo and Violet close by. The rest followed. Throttle drove his bike through the door and let go of his handlebars. He pointed the gun at the guards who came running towards them. The rest did the same. They drove to the direction of the dungeons, and knocking all the guards down before they even could react.  
Throttle signed. "Stairs ahead" and they drove down. They came in a hallway and stopped at the first door they saw on their left. Throttle kicked it open. Violet looked in the room and she froze. It looked like a scene in a horror movie she knew from Earth. Chains were hanging on the ceiling, in the middle of the room a table full with blood. The floor and walls were also covered in blood stains, some old, some new. "What the…" She saw something glistering on the ground in the corner of the room. It looked like some metal plate… But before she could figure out what it was, Throttle drove further into the hallway. She had no choice but to follow. After trying all the doors and shooting all the guards down, there was only one door to go. Throttle stepped of his bike, closely followed by Violet and Modo. The rest stayed at the door, to make sure nobody could surprise them. Violet could feel her heart pounding in her chest. This is it. He must be in here. Hopefully alive and kicking.

Throttle looked into the first two cells to find out they were empty. He walked to the last cell, feeling nervous. He looked inside and saw a white figure lying in the shadows, with his back to them. "Vinnie!", he said with relief. Vinnie didn't respond. Violet ran to the door.  
"Vinnie! Oh my god, Vinnie, are you okay!?" she yelled, pulling desperately at the cell door. Vinnie still didn't responded. Throttle's worry grew.  
"Modo, open the door. Violet, you wait here!", he ordered.  
Violet protested. "No, I need to see him, I need to know if he's okay!" but Throttle shook his head.  
"Listen to me. I don't know in what state he is. If it's bad, I don't want you to see it. I'm saying this to protect you! Wait here, and that's an order." He walked into the cell. He slowly sat down on his knees next to Vinnie. The white furred mouse was a mess. His back was full with mean looking wounds, some very deep. His white fur was turned red from all the blood. His tail was lying in a weird looking position.  
Throttle cursed between his teeth. "Oh man, Vinnie… What have they done to you…"  
He carefully placed his hand on Vinnie's shoulder. "Vinnie, wake up bro. We are gonna take you out of here…"

Vinnie stirred. Did he really heard Throttle's voice, or was his mind playing some sick game? He slowly lifted his head. "Throttle?", he asked with a small voice, which didn't sound anything like his normal voice.  
"I'm here Vinnie. Can you stand up?", Throttle asked while waving at Modo to come help him. Violet was looking like she was gonna lose it, but she remained where she was. Because there wasn't much light in the dungeons, she couldn't see what was going on.  
Modo joined Throttle. "Hey there, little bro,", he said, trying to sound confident, but his voice broke when he saw Vinnie.  
Vinnie slowly got up, still with his back towards them. Why wasn't he looking at them?  
Throttle gently grabbed Vinnie's arm. "Vincent.. Vinnie.. Turn around."  
Vinnie swallowed. He didn't want his bro's to see him like this. He placed his hand on the right side of his face and slowly turned around.  
Throttle and Modo had already seen the mask was gone. Realization hit. Of course, Vinnie wouldn't want them to see his face. Oh, poor Vinnie. When was he going to understand that they would never judge him?  
Vinnie looked at Throttle, despair on his face. Throttle lay his hand on Vinnie's wrist. "Vinnie, it's okay. We don't judge. What did they do to you?"  
Modo stood next to Throttle. "It's okay, little bro. We are your bro's. Family."

Vinnie swallowed again, a tear escaped his left eye. He slowly lowered his hand. Throttle was shocked, but he didn't show it. The right side of Vinnie's face was one, bloody mess. The old scars were all cut open again.  
"We need to get you out of here. You need medical help. Come on." He grabbed Vinnie's arm to support him and they slowly walked to the door. But then Vinnie saw Violet. He walked back into the shadows, but tripped because he was weak and his broken tail didn't give him any support. He fell with his back against the wall and he covered his face again. "No…", he whispered.  
Throttle fell on his knees in front of him. Vinnie grabbed his arm in an iron grip.  
"I don't want her to see me like this. Please Throttle, I can't…" his weak voice broke.  
"Vinnie, calm down. It's okay. She loves you, no matter what. You know that, right?"  
But Vinnie almost panicked, tears streaming down his face, mixing with the blood on his face. "NO!", he yelled with a hoarse voice. Throttle raised his hands.  
"Okay, okay. Calm down, bro. Modo, take Violet with you. I will take Vinnie with me. Go!"

Modo ran to Violet, who was pacing through the hallway. "Modo! I want to see him! I need to see if he's okay!", she yelled when she saw him. Modo stopped her. "Not now, Violet. He is in bad shape."  
"I don't care! I want to see him! I want to help him!"  
"Violet, listen to me. They took his mask. I can't explain right now, but if you wanna help him, then you'll do as I say and come with me!"  
His mask… Violet remembered the metal that was lying in that horrifying room. "I know where his mask is", she said and she turned around.  
"Violet, no!", Modo yelled, but she was already gone. She ran back to the room, slipping along Carbine and ran inside. She quickly grabbed the mask and ran back.  
"I got it! Let's go!" and she jumped at Vinnie's bike.

Meanwhile, Throttle was helping Vinnie on his bike. He took his own place and Vinnie wrapped his arms around Throttle's waist. He was in so much pain with every move he made, he almost passed out. But he forced himself to stay awake. He hid his face behind Throttle's back.  
"You ready?", Throttle asked, looking behind him.  
"Yeah..", Vinnie whispered. He felt so humiliated. So angry. When they drove through the building, the guards were still out cold. But when they were almost outside, a big, ugly fish blocked their way.  
"Going somewhere?", he asked with that evil grin. Everybody raised their gun. But before anyone could say or do something, Vinnie slid of Throttle's bike and grabbed the gun out of Throttle's leg holster.  
"Vinnie... ", Throttle warned him, but Vinnie didn't listen. He had a score to settle. He had made a promise, and now it was time to make it true. He stumbled forward, his hand before his face. Adrenaline was taking over his body. The pain was driving away by anger.  
"Hey Buddy!", he yelled with a sore throat. It didn't sounded that badass he had wanted to, but it didn't matter.  
Buddy looked at him and laughed. "Aahhh, if it isn't our own Phantom Of The Opera! Why the long face?"

Vinnie gritted his teeth and quickly shot Buddy in both legs. The fish cried in pain and fell on the floor. "You stupid mouse!", he screamed and tried to get up. Vinnie stood in front of him.  
"I told you I would get you. I've warned you. You were messing with the wrong mouse. But you didn't listen. Even now, you seem to think you can get away with what you have done."  
He pointed the gun at Buddy's head. Buddy still had that arrogant look on his face. Vinnie couldn't believe how stupid this fish was. Even with a gun on his head, he still thought he was gonna win, for fuck sake.

"Oh, Buddy?", Vinnie said with a sweet voice. Buddy looked at him.  
"The virus in on our base, waiting to be destroyed. Was that the answer you were looking for?" and Vinnie smiled when he saw how Buddy's face twisted in anger.

"Rest in pieces, you motherfucker", and Vinnie pulled the trigger. The gun fell out of his hand and he stared at the dead fish. He won. He always won. Stupid fish. Hope he will burn in hell. The adrenaline quickly faded away and Vinnie could see that the world was turning. He stumbled a few passes and fell backwards. Modo caught him before his head hit the ground. Vinnie's hand slid away from his face and the last thing he saw was Violet's shocked look on her face.

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Please review! :)


	28. Chapter 28

Thanks for the reviews!

Here is the next chapter, made it longer then usual. It are actually two chapters.  
One chapter, two chapters, two chapters in one! :D  
Hope you like it. :)

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 **Chapter twenty eight**

Vinnie was running. Well, he tried. But his legs didn't cooperate. He didn't come any closer to his goal. He saw Karbunkle on the top of a roof, pointing a bazooka at The Last Chance Garage. Vinnie saw Charley through the window, waving at him. "No! Charley!", he screamed, but his voice failed on him. He ran and ran, but it felt like his feet were stuck in quicksand. He felt desperate. Why wasn't he fast enough? Why couldn't he save Charley, his Charley-girl? Karbunkle grinned and fired the rocket. The explosion was deafening and Vinnie fell on his knees. "Charley!" He looked up the roof again and saw Buddy. Vinnie felt confused. This doesn't make any sense. "Where is the virus?", Buddy asked with that evil grin of his. Suddenly, he stood next to Vinnie, holding up a mirror. Vinnie saw himself, well, sort off. His mask was gone and the right side of his face was one, bloody mess. Violet stood next to him, with a shocked look on her face. "No, no, no…" He tried to raise his arm. He wanted to hide his face, but he couldn't. Vinnie suddenly felt he was lying on that horrible table again, belts around his wrists. He panicked. This couldn't be happening. He struggled hard, screaming in agony.

"Wow, wow, wow settle down Vincent, settle down!"  
Throttle's voice. Vinnie opened his eyes. He wasn't in the playroom, but in a hospital room. He looked confused at his hands, which were tied to the bed. He panicked again. "Let me go!", he yelled, struggling. Throttle pushed him down on the bed.  
"Easy, Vincent, easy. You're safe now." But Vinnie didn't listen. Why was he tied up? His broken tail lashed through the air and hit Throttle full in the face. His glasses flew of his nose and Throttle had no choice to let him go, dazed by the mean slap in his face. Suddenly, a nurse ran to Vinnie's bed and slammed a needle in his neck. It happened so fast, that Vinnie wasn't able to react. He felt dizzy and fell back on his pillow. His eyes rolled back in his head and his body relaxed. Throttle grabbed his glasses, which luckily had survived the fall.  
"Thanks", he said to the nurse, rubbing his face. "No problem. You okay?", she asked. Throttle nodded. "Yeah.. I'm fine." But he wasn't. It was very disturbing to see Vinnie like this. The panic, the fear… He never had seen Vinnie react like this when he was wounded. Normally, he acted all macho about it, pretending he didn't care. But this was different. Throttle was mad. No, he was furious. Vinnie was finally recovering from the loss of Charley, had got himself a sweet girl, finally feeling happy again. And then there was that fucking fish who had destroyed everything. Not physical, but emotional. The wounds will heal, his tail too. But how was he going to recover emotionally? Throttle knew how important his looks were for Vinnie. He hated the fact that his face was scarred. The mask helped. But now, he needed to start from the beginning again. The fish had found the exact right thing that would break Vinnie. He had recovered once, but will he recover again?

Throttle sighed and watched his bro. The right side of his face was covered in a thick bandage. His torso too, because of the wounds on his back. There was a splint around his tail, but apparently he already could use his tail again. Throttle wrinkled his nose. They had to tie Vinnie to his bed because of his bad dreams. It prevented him to hurt himself. But it didn't help with the panic attacks. It has been three days since they got him out. But Vinnie was out most of the time. The few times he did woke up, he was in a state of panic. So, they needed to sedate him. They couldn't explain to him why he was tied to the bed and Throttle felt guilty about it. But they didn't had a choice. But he just wished Vinnie would give him the chance to explain. To tell him that he was safe.

The nurse had explained that he was recovering, but had suffered a lot. His body shut itself down, like some sort of self protection. The dreams were the result from his traumatizing experiences. Throttle hadn't left Vinnie's side since they were back. He felt responsible for his younger bro. To protect him, to help him recover. Violet hadn't left his side either, but Throttle had convinced her today to get some sleep. She was exhausted after all the stress, pain, worry and lack of sleep. She had agreed, but only if Throttle promised that he would wake her up when something changed. Throttle was glad she didn't witnessed this last panic episode. It would break her heart. It broke his heart too. Modo was here most of the time, but the gentle, grey giant had a pretty hard time to see his younger bro like this. So Gaya took him out, to clear his head. Throttle was glad she did. They all needed all the love they could get. To get through this heartbreaking period.  
Throttle sat down on the chair next to Vinnie's bed. The sedative worked at least for two hours. So, he had time to take a little nap. He closed his eyes and soon drifted off.

Violet lay in Vinnie's bed, staring at the ceiling. She was so tired, but she couldn't sleep. As soon she closed her eyes, she saw Vinnie's face, all messed up. When they were in that awful dungeon, Modo had told her in other words Vinnie didn't want to see her. And as hard as the tried to deny it, it still hurted. Why did he push her away? Like she cared how he looked like. She loved him. Of course, he was one sexy mouse. But he was way more then that. Why would he think she only liked him because of his looks? She had to admit, she was shocked when she had seen his face. But who wouldn't? She was shocked of because what they did to him. Not because she thought he was a monster. She loved him, god dammit. Why was he doubting her? She rolled on her side, grabbing Vinnie's pillow. She pushed her face in it and inhaled his lovely scent. What was gonna happen next? She knew his injuries were gonna heal. Of course, he would have more scars after that. But what will happen between them? Was he gonna push her away? She was not gonna allow it. No way. She was gonna stick by his side and be there for him. No matter what! But she still had that nagging feeling of insecurity.

She couldn't sleep. She was too restless. She got out of bed and put on her pants and grabbed a shirt from Vinnie. It was way too big, but she needed his scent around her. She opened the door and was about to close it, when she saw a black tail disappearing around the corner, in the direction of the medic room. Violet looked confused. There was only one black mouse she knew on this base and that was Flint. But that didn't make any sense. He died, right? But she realized they never had found a body. Flint! He must be the snitch! And now he was on his way to the medic room. That couldn't be good. Violet came to senses and ran to the medic room. When she burst into Vinnie's room, she saw Throttle was fast asleep. Flint stood by Vinnie's bed and was about to inject something into Vinnie's IV.

"NO!", Violet screamed and she launched herself at Flint. She tackled him and threw him on the ground. Because of the strength of the attack, the syringe flew out of his hand. Violet's blood was boiling. This was all his fault! She clenched her fist and punched him in the face. "Why?!", she yelled, ignoring the pain in her hand. Those macho mice made it always look so easy. Flint smiled. "Surprise!" and he pushed her away from him. Violet flew against the wall and landed hard on the ground. Flint was searching on his knees and hands, but he stopped when he heard another voice. "Looking for this?" and he looked up.  
Throttle was standing before him, with the syringe in his hand. Before Flint could say anything, Throttle kicked him hard against his head. He was out cold.  
Throttle ran to Violet. "Are you okay?", he asked, helping her up. Violet nodded, stroking her hair out of her face with shaking hands. "Yeah… God… I can't believe Flint did this. Why?"  
Throttle looked at Flint. "Only he can tell."  
He walked to the radio that was hanging on the wall.  
"I need two guards to pick up a prisoner in the medic room. He is unconscious, so throw him in a cell. We will interrogate him later. No water, no food. Over and out."  
Throttle looked back at Violet. "When Flint is back into the living world, I will ask him why and how he did all this."

Violet nodded, stepping aside when two guards picked up Flint and dragged him out of the room. Throttle gave them the order to inform Carbine about the latest developments. He still didn't want to leave Vinnie's side. Violet was standing by Vinnie's bed, looking so lost that Throttle pulled her in a hug.  
"He will be okay, Violet. Just give him some time."  
Violet looked at Vinnie. "How do you know? How can you be so sure?"  
Throttle smiled. "Because I know Vinnie. When he falls, he always picks himself up off the ground. I know he will. He is a fighter. Of course, it will take time. But I know he will be okay. He has you to help him through." and he planted a kiss on her forehead. He didn't speak about his doubts. Violet needed someone to be strong and who believed in a happy ending.  
Violet buried her face against Throttle's chest. She loved him like a brother. He was so kind and caring. "I'm scared he is gonna push me away…", she whispered, tears filling her eyes. Throttle gently made himself loose and looked at her. "Then don't let him. Stick by his side."  
Before Violet could respond, Vinnie suddenly screamed. "NO! Charley!"

Violet and Throttle both almost jumped out of their fur. Violet turned to Vinnie's bed. Vinnie was sitting up, breathing heavily, his left eye wide open.  
"Vinnie, calm down. I'm here", Violet said, crying. She lay her hand on his arm. Throttle kept his distance, to give them space. Vinnie turned his head slowly in the direction of Violet. "Vi… Violet?", he asked with a weak voice. Then he smiled. "Hey, sweetheart…"

He wanted to pull her in a hug, but his hands were still tied. He looked at them confused, pulling on the strings. Throttle quickly set him free.  
"You were hurting yourself, so that's why… we didn't had a choice." Vinnie looked at him feeling confused, he didn't understand what Throttle was talking about. He turned his attention back to Violet and pulled her in a hug. Violet wrapped her arms around his neck.  
"I've missed you so much, cutie. I'm so glad I have you in my arms again", she whispered in his ear. Vinnie untangled himself and brushed with his fingers over her cheek. Suddenly, he felt the pain and everything came back. He raised his hand and touched the right side of his face. He felt the bandage. No… his face… his tail… his back… So it did happen. It wasn't just a bad dream. He lied back on his pillow, turning his face away.

Violet's heart broke. "Vinnie, it's okay…", she said, feeling helpless. She couldn't take away his pain, as much as she wanted. Vinnie didn't respond. He hated it that she saw him like this. He closed his left eye and wished they all just leave him alone.  
Throttle lay a hand on his shoulder. "Bro… we are here for you."  
Vinnie still didn't respond, pretending to be asleep. Violet shook her head in disbelief. Did he really thought she would buy his trick? His rejection hurted her.  
"Vinnie, please… talk to me…" She could hear how pleading her voice sounded.  
"Please, just leave me alone", Vinnie said without looking at her. Violet looked at Throttle, she didn't know what to do. Throttle knew Vinnie needed some time. He gently took Violet's arm. "Let's go, Violet."  
Violet watched one more time at Vinnie and walked out of the room. As soon Throttle had closed the door behind him, she swirled around and pointed a finger at him.  
"You just said: 'Don't let him push you away.' And now you say to leave him alone!? Make up your mind, Throttle!" she yelled angry.  
Throttle raised his hands. "He needs a little time, Violet. The guy had been tortured, going through hell and back and his face… Well, I know Vinnie. He needs a little bit time to get his mind straight. It's a guy thing, okay? Later on, stick by his side. But for now, we are all gonna give him some time. Give it another shot in the morning, okay?"

Violet lowered her hand. "Fine!", she snapped, immediately feeling guilty that she took her frustration out on Throttle. But sometimes his wise words annoyed her. He was right, like always. But sometimes hearing the right thing, no, doing the right thing was hard. And annoying.  
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't take this out on you, it's not your fault. It's just…" she fell silent, looking at the ground.  
"No need to say sorry, I understand okay? Vinnie needs you, even if he is trying to deny it. Go get some sleep. He needs you to be strong for him. So go get some rest."

Violet nodded and walked to Vinnie's room. Once inside, she let herself fall on his bed and closed her eyes. Finally, exhausting took over and she drifted off quickly in a deep, dream free sleep.

* * *

Please review! :)


	29. Chapter 29

Thanks for the reviews! 3

I've decided to make my chapters a little bit longer. Hope you guys like it! :)

* * *

 **Chapter twenty nine**

Meanwhile, Throttle walked to Carbine's office, deep in thoughts. What a mess. Life… it definitely ain't a straight road. How much were they gonna be able to take until they couldn't fight it anymore? He walked into Carbine's office. As usual, she was sitting behind her desk, reading papers only she could understand. Throttle shook his head, suddenly feeling a little bit sad. He sure missed the days before the war, when Carbine wasn't such a workaholic.  
"Hey babe", he said and took a seat. Carbine gave him a sad smile.  
"Hey there, stranger. How is Vinnie?"  
"Awake, broken and pushing everybody away like he always does when he is having a hard time. Same old, same old." He shook his head, didn't want to sound so bitter. But he felt suddenly so tired. Being a leader was in his blood and he was good at it. But there were moments like this, that everything just piled up and it became to much. Carbine studied his face. She knew Throttle well enough to know what he was thinking.  
"Throttle, why don't you go get some sleep? Try to forget everything for just one night. You don't have to carry the whole planet on your shoulders, you know…"  
Throttle leaned back in his chair. "I just… feel so old and tired. I try so hard to do everything right and everytime things appear to be under control, it all falls apart again…"  
Carbine took his hand. "You are doing such a great job, Throttle. It's not your fault that things just keep falling apart. It's this war… This war is trying to destroy everything. But we need to remember we have each other. We still have something to fight for. We are not gonna give up!"  
Throttle played with her fingers. "God, you are so strong… How do you do it? How is it that you never lose hope?"  
Carbine shook her head. "I do lose hope sometimes. I agree with you, everything is a mess. Vinnie wounded, a traiter on the base… But then, I think of you. And Modo. And Stoker. Even Vinnie. And now, Violet, Gaya and Jake. But mainly you. I fight because of you. I fight for a future together, because hopefully one day, we will be free again. Be able to live in peace. With you on my side. Without you… I would lose hope. I would give up. I love you, Throttle." Her voice broke.  
Throttle was deeply touched. They didn't have this kind of conversation in a long time. It was always about that fucking war, strategy, planning etcetera. He understood why she was so devoted. But sometimes he just needed Carbine, not General Carbine.  
"Carbine.. I know. I want that future together as much as you do. And we will keep fighting for it. I love you too, babe", and he kissed her.  
Carbine kissed him back with a hunger he didn't had felt in a long time. He deepened the kiss and soon after that, things got out of control quickly. They had sex on Carbine's desk and it was different than usual. There was a curtain feeling they both had. They needed each other in order to survive. They were made for each other. All the anger, sorrow and worries flooded to the background of their minds. For now, being together was enough.

After, they smiled at each other. They both had needed this. Carbine kissed the tip of his nose.  
"I hate to spoil the moment, but we have a traitor to interrogate. You with me?"  
Throttle smiled. "Oh yeah. Count me in."  
They got dressed and walked to the part of the base where they kept the prisoners. Flint was awake and guards cuffed him to drag him to a room with a table in the middle. They chained him at the table and left the room. Throttle and Carbine came in and took place on the other side of the table. Flint looked at them, almost curious.  
"Well, Flint… I need to say I didn't quite expect to see you here", Carbine started, watching him carefully. Flint smiled.  
"If you think I am gonna say anything, then you're wrong."  
"Do you have a death wish, Flint? Oh, I'm just asking", Throttle continued when he saw the confused look on Flint's face. "You think we don't kill people? You think we are some softies, who don't punish traitors? Well, then you are wrong. If you don't talk, we will kill you. Slowly. Painfully. No food, no water. It sometimes takes about three weeks, you know? And it's not a pretty way to die. So, it's your choice."  
Flint didn't look so sure anymore. "And what if I talk?"  
Carbine shrugged. "Then you will live."  
Flint thought about it. Was he really that devoted to the Plutarkians? To give up his live for them? No, he didn't think so. But this wasn't just about him. But if he died, they were gonna kill her too. He sighed. It seems that there wasn't a good answer to this. But he did know one thing. He didn't want to die. So he gave in.  
"What do you want to know?"  
Throttle smiled. "Everything. So spill it."

Flint sighed. "When the Plutarkians attacked my village, I lost everything. My house, my family, my friends… But I survived the attack and they took me with them as their prisoner. They treated me like shit. Many times I just wished I had died in the attack…" he trailed off, looking sad.  
Throttles shook his head. "Well, that's really touching and all, but why work for them if they treated you like shit? They destroyed your hometown, including the people you loved. Why in the world would you help them?"  
Flint stared at the table. "One day, a certain fish came to visit me. He was the leader of the prison. He offered me this deal. If I would work for them, I would live. And they would treat me like I was one of them. It was tempting, really. But I hesitated. And then, I found out my sister also had survived the attack and she was in the same prison as me. She would be treated good if I would cooperate. So I did. I came on your base as a new recruit and blend in at the same time. Nobody noticed." Flint smiled, somehow proud of himself.  
Carbine nodded. "Okay, but you didn't tell them about our plan to steal the virus. They didn't know. Why?"  
"Because I also didn't know. I only heard about the patrol, that you guys had discovered the building where they were keeping the virus. I told them, but they already knew of course. Quiet as mice is something you guys don't understand. The one thing they didn't know, was who had discovered them. I told them and they attacked this base. To find new prisoners and destroy the rest."  
Throttle rubbed his chin. "Okay, so it was you who had planned the diversion?"  
Flint nodded. "Yes. Plutarkians are cruel, but not very smart. I knew how you guys work. Most of the time you dive in and think later. So, it turned out I was right. But unfortunately, you still won the battle. I thought it was time to disappear, before anybody would notice who I actually was. But you didn't even thought about it." Flint laughed. Throttle fighted the urge to punch the guy in the face.  
"Don't act like you are so smart. You failed. You didn't find out about our plan to steal the virus", he snapped.  
Flint stopped laughing.  
"No, you were very good at keeping that a secret. After the patrol, I knew I had to find out. I've talked to Violet, even apologized for my behaviour. I knew she was involved and I knew you guys were planning something. Violet is a sensitive girl. I thought: If I could become friends with here, I have my opening. But then, the attack failed and I needed to disappear. "  
"Okay, so you did. And then what?", Carbine asked.  
"I found some sort of hidden closet in the basement. A place for me to sleep and hide during the day. When it was dark, I sneaked through the building, looking for answers and to find out where you kept the virus. But I couldn't find it. So I came up with the idea to kidnap one of the famous Biker Mice. They know everything that is happening on this base."

Throttle looked at him with a frown on his face. "So why Vinnie?"  
When he heard Vinnie's name, his face darkened.  
"Because that guy is so arrogant, egotistical and macho. His ego is bigger than this planet. I hated him since the first time we met. During the training, when he treated me like I was some kind of idiot, I hated him even more. Nobody is telling me what to do!"  
Throttle shook his head. "No, of course not. Only your enemy who destroyed everything you loved. But please, go on."  
Flint ignored him. "When I met Violet, I was stunned. She was beautiful, funny and kind. But who decided to use her as his trophee? That stupid, arrogant adrenaline junkie."  
Carbine sighed. "Okay, so you hate Vinnie. You have made your point. But why kidnapping him? He is hard to control, and very loyal to us. He don't do snitching."  
Flint laughed without humor. "The idea was that we took Violet too. With her in our hands, he would do and say everything we wanted. But he needed to play the hero and she escaped."  
"But you just said you liked Violet?", asked Carbine, looking confused.  
"Yeah, well. She had made her choice", Flint shrugged.  
"Who gave you the order to kill Vinnie in his bed?", Throttle asked.  
"Nobody did. I wanted him dead. I still want him dead. The guy is like weed, he comes back every time. I want him dead!" and Flint slammed with his fist on the table.  
Carbine and Throttle shared a quick look.  
"Well, obviously you failed. Deal with it. So, who are you working for?", Carbine asked.  
"He calls himself Hercules, not sure if that is his real name. He is one mean motherfucker. High ranked in the Plutarkian army. He is the one who started project Inferno. And he is really mad that you guys have crossed his plans."  
"And who was that Buddy guy? The one who Vinnie killed?"  
"He worked for Hercules. Doing all the dirty work, torturing, killing… He was a sick bastard" , Flint said with a shiver.

Carbine clapped in her hands, the sound echoed against the walls.  
"Okay, so here is what we are gonna do. You keep in contact with this Hercules under our supervision. You don't tell him we know who you are. You are spying for us now. When is the next time you have to contact him?"  
"In two days…", Fint answered, a little hesitant. "They have my sister. If they find out I'm working for you now.. I can't…" but Throttle interrupted him.  
"We don't care about your sister. You almost killed one of my bro's. My family. That was crossing a line. So no whining about your sister. I don't care, okay? You are working for us now, and that's final. We will continue this conversation tomorrow."  
Normally Throttle wasn't this cruel. But Flint had gone to far. And now he was paying the price. "Guards, bring him back to his cell. No water and food."  
Flint looked confused. "Hey, but you said…"  
Throttle smiled. "I said you will live. I didn't say you were free to go. And a few days without water and food isn't going to kill you. Bye Flint, see you in two days."  
He and Carbine left the room, leaving Flint speechless behind.

* * *

Please review! :)


	30. Chapter 30

Thanks for the reviews! :D

So, next chapter. I've used some lyrics from Linkin Park, since I thought it matched completely with how Vinnie and Violet are feeling. I don't own these words, all the credits go to Linkin Park.

Songs I've used:  
Nobody can save me  
Talking to myself  
Shadow of the day

Hope you guys like it. Sorry, it's a bit shorter. I know I've said I would making my chapters longer. But this chapter is special.

* * *

 **Chapter thirty**

The next morning, Vinnie woke up because of the pain in his back and face. He moaned softly, feeling very miserable. He stared at the ceiling for a few moments. His hand reached at his face. Where he normally would feel the comforting feeling of cold metal, he now felt the thick bandage. God, why was this all happening again? And now he had lost his mask too.  
Killing Buddy was satisfying, but the damage was already done. He needed to know how he looked like. Vinnie slowly slid out of his bed, trying to ignore the pain and pulled the IV out of his hand. He stumbled to the small bathroom. He looked in the mirror. The right side of his face was covered in thick bandage, his ear peeping out. His left eye was bloodshot, his right eye hidden behind the bandage. He saw blood traces in his normally snow white fur. Man… talk about a deja vu. He slowly raised his hand and started to remove the bandage. When he was done, he stared at the sink. He was scared. But he needed to know. He slowly lifted his head and could only stare in shock at what he saw. He grabbed the sink with both hands, his breathing became heavy. No… His face was a mess. And that was an understatement. Buddy had cut right through the old scars, crisscross over the whole right side of his face. The only good thing he could see, was that his eye was still intact. Rows of stitches, bare skin, scar tissue, little lines with white fur… Vinnie tightened his grip, couldn't stop staring.

" _Please tell me it's alright…  
_ _Tell me I'm forgiving… tonight…  
_ _But nobody can save me now…  
_ _I'm holding up a light…  
_ _Chasing out the darkness… inside…  
_ ' _cause nobody can save me now..."_

He suddenly saw movement behind him. Violet was standing in the door opening, eyes wide open. Vinnie stared at her through the mirror for a few seconds, but then reality hit him. He quickly covered his face with his hand.  
"Go away", he said, fighting against the tears that threatened to overwhelm him. But Violet walked over to him and lay a hand on his shoulder.  
"No, I'm not leaving. We are going to get through this together."  
Vinnie felt his anger flame up and he snapped. He clenched his fist and slammed it against the mirror. It broke into million pieces. His knuckles were bleeding, but he didn't care. "I don't want you to see me like this!", he growled, gritting his teeth.  
Violet stepped back, but didn't leave. She wasn't scared of him. How was she going to let him see she was there for him?

" _Tell me what I've gotta do  
_ _There's no getting through to you  
_ _The lights are on but nobody's home…  
_ _You say I can't understand  
_ _But you're not giving me a chance  
_ _When you leave me, where do you go…"_

"Vinnie…", Violet started, but Vinnie interrupted her.  
"NO! Why don't you listen to me? Why don't you just leave me alone? Do you like it, to play the hero? Like you can save me! Nobody can, okay!?"  
He turned around, his eyes flaming with rage and sorrow. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the shock on Violet's face.  
"No, of course you don't like it. You find me disgusting. Shocking. Ugly! I can see it in your eyes! You only doing this because you think you need to!", he roared, pushing Violet away. But Violet didn't burge. She didn't even felt sad. No, she felt anger. That stupid, stubborn mouse. She grabbed his arm.

" _All the walls that you keep building  
_ _All this time that I spend chasing  
_ _All the ways that I keep losing you…"_

"Now, you listen to me! Yes, I am shocked. Because of what they did to you! Don't you see! Who wouldn't be shocked!? Dammit Vinnie, you are not ugly! When are you going to understand that I am here for you!? ALWAYS!? I love you, you stupid mouse. And I don't care if you have scars, missing a tail, have pink fur or whatever. I love you no matter what! Because you are sweet, protective, funny, caring, loyal and still very SEXY! Why are you pushing me away? Why are you doubting me? I was so scared when they took you away from me, I knew my life was over if they would kill you. And now I have you back and you just keep pushing me away! That hurts, Vinnie! Like hell!" Tears of anger and sorrow streamed over her face while she looked at Vinnie, breathing heavily because of her outburst. Vinnie stared at her.  
"I just want you to leave me alone… Give me some time…" he said, tears in his eyes.  
"Well, I am not going anywhere!", Violet snapped at him.

" _The truth is, you turn into someone else  
_ _You keep running like the sky is falling  
_ _I can whisper, I can yell  
_ _But I know I'm just talking to myself…"_

Vinnie fell on his knees. "I'm… I'm sorry… I just… I can't go through this again. I just can't…" and he buried his face in his hands. Violet sat on the ground before him, gently grabbing his hands.  
"Yes, you can! And you will! I know it's hard. And I can't imagine where you are going through. But this time, you don't have to do this alone. You have me. And I will help you through this!" and she planted a kiss on his hands. Then, she grabbed the bandage and wrapped it carefully around his head again.  
"Thank you, sweetheart. For believing in me", Vinnie whispered.  
Violet kissed him on the cheek. "Anytime, cutie. When will you going to learn that? Any time."

" _Can't you hear me calling you home?"_

She wiped away his tears. "I've got something for you. Close your eyes and hold up your hands." Vinnie did what she said. He felt something cold and heavy in his hands. He opened his eyes and watched at the object in his hands. It was his mask. The metal had turned back into his old, round shape again.  
"My… but… how?", he stuttered.  
Violet snickered. "Look who is all speechless. Never thought the day would come. I found it in that scary room. Took it with me. Thought you were gonna need it."  
Vinnie felt a huge relief flooding through his body. Like there was falling a huge weight off his shoulders. This was gonna make things so much easier. He smiled.  
"You're the best, sweetheart." Violet gently took the mask out of his hand.  
"When your wounds are healed, you can put it back on. Till then, I will keep it safe for you."

Vinnie pulled her against him. "I don't know what to say. Not really used to that feeling. But let me try. Thank you. I'm so glad that you are in my life. Without you… I would have died there. The only reason I had the strength to fight, was because of you. I'm sorry I was such a jerk. I don't know what was wrong with me."  
Violet wrapped her arms around his neck, careful to no hurt the wounds on his back.  
"It's okay, you crazy mouse. I understand. But don't do that ever again. Pushing me away. I'll tie your tail in a knot, you hear me?"

Vinnie smiled and Violet saw the familiar spark in his eye that told her he was back. That he finally understood that she wasn't going anywhere. She kissed him, way more passionate than she actually had planned. Vinnie's body immediately responded. He pushed her on the ground, ignoring the pain in his back. A low growl escaped his mouth. He ripped her clothes of her body. He needed her. He knew that now. This beautiful girl with her beautiful eyes gave him hope. Hope for a better life. He pushed himself inside of her and let out a sigh of relief. He was home.

" _And the sun will set for you…"_

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Please review! :)


	31. Chapter 31

Oh my god, you guys. Shit is going to get real.  
I wanna let you know that this story is almost over. But, I've already started with the follow up.  
It will be a new story on the site, but it will continue the storyline from Waiting For The End. Also with the same characters. And new one's!  
I just wanted to start something new and that's why I am taking drastic measures. I can only hope you guys are okay with this.

* * *

 **Chapter thirty one**

That night, the whole group sat together in the cafeteria. Vinnie insisted to go with Violet, even the nurses didn't allow it. But Vinnie wouldn't be Vinnie if he just did what he was told. So, he took some extra painkillers and left his room anyway. And there he was, sitting next to Violet, holding her hand like nothing had happened.  
Modo and Gaya were by the looks of things finally a item. They were sitting next to each other and had both the same happy expression on their face. They couldn't keep their eyes off each other and were both smiling like they knew something nobody else knew. Ahhh, fresh love.  
Throttle and Carbine weren't that physical touchy in public, but there was something different in how they acted around each other. More relaxed. Carbine even smiled from time to time. Stoker and Jake were sitting between all those lovebirds. They didn't care though. They were happy for them.

Throttle cleared his throat.  
"Before we start dinner, I want to tell you guys something." His voice sounded different. A little shaky. Vinnie and Modo exchanged looks and Vinnie's lips were curling into a smile. He didn't had a clue what Throttle was about to say, but he knew this was going to be good. Modo gave him a warning gaze. He knew Vinnie. Always took any opportunity to crack jokes and make people feeling embarrassed. Vinnie wiggled his eyebrows (well, his left eyebrow, since his face was still covered in the bandage) but said nothing.  
Throttle looked nervous around the group. "Ahum… yeah… well… actually… WE need to tell you something." He grabbed Carbine's hand.  
"Oh puhlease, don't tell me your preg…" Vinnie started, but Violet slammed her hand over his mouth, smiling innocently.  
"Please, continue!", she said. Vinnie glared at her.  
"Well, we wanted to let you know that we are engaged!", Throttle said, smiling at Carbine who smiled back.  
Everybody cheered and whooped and congratulated the happy couple.  
"About time!", Modo rumbled.  
Vinnie smiled. "Oooh, I have such a great story to tell on your wedding! Something about what happened in Carbine's office when I walked in…" and he laughed out loud.  
Normally, Throttle would punch him, but because of his wounds, he didn't. He noticed he didn't even care that Vinnie was being Vinnie. He was just happy Vinnie was here, alive and well.  
Carbine growled. "Don't you dare, Vincent!"  
Vinnie laughed. "Congrats you two lovebirds. Like Modo said, it's about time. And I am always ready to party!"

The girls wanted all the mushy details.  
"So tell us Carbine, how did he pop the question? Was it romantic?", Violet asked.  
Carbine smiled. "Well, not really. But that's okay, because I am not that romance type of girl. So, he asked this morning in bed. Even gave me a ring!" and she waved with her hand. It was a simple, but beautiful ring with a small, red diamond in it.  
"Wow, it's beautiful", Violet purred. Gaya agreed. The men nodded and mumbled something. Carbine smiled. Men…

The rest of the evening went on quit. Throttle took Modo and Vinnie aside and informed them about Flint. Vinnie couldn't believe his oversized ears.  
"So you are saying this was all his fault?", he asked, pointing at his body and face. Throttle nodded.  
"Where is he? I'm going to kill him!", Vinnie said, standing up. But then his face twisted. He sat down again.  
"Okay, okay. I know. Wounded, need rest, blablabla…"  
Modo laughed. "Oh momma, you are finally learning!"  
Vinnie glared at him. "Just wait till I'm healed."  
Throttle stopped them before things were getting out of hand. It always ended with broken furniture.  
"Bro's, come on. Listen. We have Flint on our side now. We forced him to it. So maybe we can get a hold on their plans."  
Vinnie slammed his fist in his hand. "Ah men, I can't wait to be back on my feet again. Then it's payback time!"  
Modo and Throttle smiled. Yep. Their bro was back. Thanks to Violet. She had told them what had happened this morning. They all had faith that their youngest bro will bounce back on his feet again.  
"Yo, Modo! When were you gonna tell us that you have find yourself a nice girl, heah?", Vinnie asked. It immediately had the effect Vinnie was hoping for. Modo's blush was clearly visible under his grey fur.  
"Yeah well… A lot of things were happening at the same time. But yeah, I did have found myself a nice girl." He smiled while looking at Gaya.  
Vinnie snickered. "I'm happy for you, bro."  
"Well thanks Vinnie, that's really nice of you to say."

They chatted for a while about their glory days on Earth and other stuff. They were interrupted when Violet walked over to them.  
"Vinnie, let's get you to bed. The nurses are gonna kill me if you come back after midnight."  
Vinnie smiled. "That's my que. Later bro's!" And he walked with Violet back to the medic room. The rest of the group followed them a few minutes later, all tired from all the stress of the events from the last days.

The next day, Throttle and Carbine were sitting opposite Flint again. Flint looked like shit, after two days without water and food. They had gave him some water, otherwise his voice could maybe give away that there was something wrong. Throttle wanted to avoid that this Hercules guy was gonna suspect something.  
"Okay, Flint. Listen carefully. You are gonna tell the Plutarkians that we have destroyed the virus. Then we will see what they got to say about that. If you tell them something, or give them some sort of sign to let them know we got you, you're dead. You got that?"  
Flint looked very unhappy, but nodded. "Yes, I understand…"  
Carbine gave him the radio that they had found in his pocket the day they had captured him. "Go ahead, do your thing."  
Flint took the radio with shaking hands. He glared one more time at Throttle and Carbine and cleared his throat. He brought the radio to his mouth.  
"Blackshadow for Hercules, over."  
There was a silence, then the radio crackled.  
"Hercules for Blackshadow. Have you find anything? Over."  
Flint swallowed. It was important that his voice was gonna sound confident.  
"Yeah, bad news. The mice have destroyed the virus. It's gone, sir. Over."  
Throttle nodded. Flint did a good job so far. There was a long silence. Throttle could understand that this Hercules clown wasn't very happy with them. But what was gonna be his next move?  
Finally, the radio came back to life.  
"We're done with this planet. Those fucking rodents are always one step ahead of us. This war cost more than it yields. We're done. We're gonna start project Exitium. Over."  
Flint looked confused. Throttle leaned closer to him.  
"And what is this project Exitium?", he asked with urgence in his voice. Flint shook his head.  
"I… I don't know…"  
"Well, ask him!", Carbine demanded.  
"What do you mean with project Exitium, sir? Over."  
"That means we are going to blow up this whole planet. If we can't have it, nobody will! So, you better get out of there. You have two hours. Over and out."  
Flint stared at the radio.  
"You don't come to pick me up? And what about my sister?" he asked in the radio.  
No answer.  
"Hello? Hello?"  
Silence.  
"You've promised me to treat me as one of your own! YOU'VE PROMISED!"  
Still no answer.  
"GOD DAMMIT! That FUCKING, LYING slimeface!", Flint screamed and he threw the radio against the wall. It exploded into thousand tiny pieces.  
He grabbed his head and started crying.  
Carbine and Throttle looked at each other, pure shock on their faces.  
"Oh my god, Throttle…. What are we going to do now?", Carbine asked, her voice shaky. Throttle could only stare at her, completely loss at words.  
They were doomed.

Throttle ran to Modo's room and burst in. Modo and Gaya looked up.  
"What the… Throttle?", Modo asked, but when he saw the expression on Throttle's face, he knew something was very, very wrong. He jumped up. Throttle looked at him.  
"We have huge problems. Go get Stoker and Jake and come to Carbine's office. I'll go get Vincent and Violet."  
"Throttle, what's…" Modo started, but Throttle was already gone.  
"Come on, Gaya. Let's do as he say." Modo grabbed Gaya's hand and they ran out of the room.

Meanwhile, Vinnie was lying on his back in bed, looking very satisfied. Violet was under the sheet doing something I'm not gonna call by it's name (use your imagination :D ). She just had changed his bandages and cleaned his wounds and well… things heated up quickly after that. Suddenly, the door flew open and Throttle ran inside. Vinnie looked at him and Violet jerked up. The sheet fell on the floor.  
"Throttle!", Violet yelled, quickly picking the sheet from the floor to cover her naked body.  
"Yo bro! Not really a good timing!", Vinnie said, apparently not ashamed that he was lying naked on the bed. But Throttle hardly noticed.  
"Big problems, Vincent! Get dressed and come to Carbine's office, PRONTO!" and he left the room. Vinnie and Violet stared at the door.  
"Apparently I've missed the weather report about Tornado Throttle this morning…", Vinnie said, while shaking his head. Violet couldn't help herself and burst out into laughing. She couldn't stop. Tears were streaming over her face.  
"Oh my god, I can't believe that just happened!", she said between laughing.  
Vinnie smiled too. "I know, right?" but he had seen the look on Throttle's face. Shit was going to get down.  
"Come on, pretty lady. Cover that beautiful body of yours. We need to go."

When they entered Carbine's office, everybody was already there. Violet closed the door, feeling nervous. What the hell was going on? She took her seat next to Vinnie.  
Carbine looked around the group. Violet had never seen her so distressed.  
"I really don't know how to say this… oh god... "  
Violet's worry grew, just like the others. Vinnie looked impatient.  
"Well, just throw it out already!"  
Carbine gave him a dark look, but didn't respond. She took a deep breath.  
"You all have heard about Flint, right?" Everybody nodded.  
"Today he reached out to his contact person from the Plutarkian Army. Throttle and I had told him that he needed to tell this person that we have destroyed the virus. And that didn't fell good at all... They ehm… They are going to blow up Mars. We have about…" she looked at her watch "one and a half hour before that happens."  
There was a deadly silence. Nobody knew what to say. Was this even real? Even Vinnie was silent for a moment.  
"Well… That escalated quickly…", he finally managed to say. Nobody responded.  
Stoker cleared his throat. "But we didn't destroy the virus, right?"  
Carbine shook her head. "No, but that doesn't change anything. We can't just give it to them. It's the same thing. It will wipe us out."  
Another silence.  
"How are they gonna blow up a whole planet?", Modo wondered. Throttle shrugged.  
"We have no idea… But we know that the Plutarkians are going to leave this planet, probably are already gone by now. This guy said that if they can't have Mars, no one can. We have no other choice then to believe they are very serious about this."  
Vinnie cracked his knuckles. "We need to find out how they are gonna do this and stop them!" He expected that everybody would support this idea, but nobody said something.  
"Guys?"  
Still no response.  
Vinnie was stunned. "Bro's! Come on! We are not gonna let them actually do this, right?"  
Throttle sighed. "We can't stop them, Vinnie. There is not enough time. We don't even know where to start looking."  
Vinnie jumped of his seat, his face twisting in pain because of the pain in his back.  
"You mean we are gonna let them blow up Mars? That we're not even going to TRY to stop them? You've gotta be kidding me!"  
Carbine looked at him. "Vinnie, I hate it as much as you do. But like Throttle said, there is simply not enough time. We lost. We are doomed. The only thing we can do right now, is getting the hell out of here!"  
Vinnie slammed his fist on the table.  
"NO! Now way I'm going to run away like some sort of coward. If you guys want to, FINE! But I am going to stop them, or I'll die trying. But at least I've tried!" and he marched at the door. Violet jumped out of her seat to stop him, but Throttle was quicker. He reached the door before Vinnie did.  
"You are not going anywhere, Vincent! Are you crazy? You are wounded, for FUCK sake! And being selfish! You really wanna go on some kind of suicide mission and leave Violet behind? Because your ego is standing in the way to make a responsible decision? Come on! You know better than that!"  
Vinnie fighted the urge to punch Throttle in the face. He felt so frustrated. So angry. Deep down, he knew that Throttle was right, but come on! Giving up your homeplanet is a big deal! He clenched his fist and slammed it against the wall, leaving a hole behind. He gritted his teeth, his broken tail slashing through the air.  
"FINE!", he growled. Throttle nodded. "Good."

They took back their seat. Vinnie crossed his arms before his chest, still looking very upset. But he kept his mouth shut. Carbine took the word.  
"We need to leave as soon as possible. Luckily, we have a few good working spaceships. We need to gather all the food and water we have on the base. And other stuff, like weapons etcetera. Everything what we need to build up a new live."  
Gaya hesitated. "Ehm… What about all the mice there are left on Mars right now?"  
Carbine sighed and studied her hands. "We can't save them…"  
Violet stared at her. "What? We are just gonna leave them behind?"  
Carbine had enough. "What choice do we have? If we stay, try to save everyone, we ALL die! And that means, no more Martian Mice! If we escape, start over again somewhere else…" her voice broke. "If we all die today, everything was for NOTHING! Every life that's gone lost in this war, all the pain, all the sorrow… It will be all for nothing! I don't want that…"  
Everybody felt silent. She did have a point. But it just felt so wrong…  
"Believe me guys, this is a decision I wish I never had to make. But I did. In sake for our species. And it kills me to leave people behind. It's against everything who I am. But I think we don't have a choice!"  
Violet slowly nodded. "I'm with you, Carbine. I don't want that my parents died for nothing. I don't want that Vinnie was tortured for nothing. I don't want that all the sorrow, all the pain everybody has experienced because of this war, was for nothing."  
Gaya agreed and so did Modo. Stoker and Jake nodded too. They all looked at Vinnie, who was awfully quiet. He was still in fight with himself, but he nodded.  
"Fine. I'm with you guys. But only because I don't want you guys to live without my great presence."  
Violet punched him on the arm.  
"What?", Vinnie asked innocently. She rolled her eyes and Vinnie winked at her. But then he grew serious again.  
"How many ships do we have?", he asked.  
"Four ships. We have room for about 40 people."  
"And how are we going to decide who lives and dies?", Modo asked.  
"I will take care of that. Don't you worry about that. You guys grab your stuff, your bikes and all the supplies. We'll meet at the ships." Carbine left the room.

"Oh momma…", Modo sighed. The others couldn't agree more.

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Please review! :) It's okay if you don't like it, but please be nice. :)  
The next chapter will be the last one from Waiting For The End.  
The new story is called Battle Symphony and will be posted online after the last chapter from this story.


	32. Chapter 32

Thanks for the reviews.

So, last chapter!

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 **Chapter thirty two**

Thirty minutes later, they were all standing by the ships. Carbine had picked out thirty two other mice who she thought were gonna be useful. They were all young and strong, both male and female. Brave warriors. She had explained the situation to them and they were very willing to come with her. They already had lost all of their family, so there wasn't actually much left for them here.  
Violet looked at their faces, but she didn't recognize any.  
"What about Flint?", she asked, turning her gaze at Carbine.  
"He can rot in hell", Vinnie said, who couldn't believe why she even bothered to ask.  
Carbine sighed. "He betrayed us, Violet. He stays behind." Violet nodded. This all felt so surreal. Like some kind of bad movie.  
"What did you tell the others? The ones who stay behind?"  
Carbine clenched her fist. "I told them we are going on a mission and we will be back tomorrow…" It obviously had broke her heart to tell such a big lie. She turned her attention at Throttle. "Do we have everything we need?"  
Throttle nodded. "Enough water and food to survive at least for three weeks. All the weapons we could find, gear for the bikes, communication gear, gasoline…"  
"And my studly bod!", Vinnie finished, flexing his muscles.  
This time it was Gaya who punched him on the arm.  
"How can you be so insensitive? With all that is happening and here you are, making jokes."  
Vinnie looked at her in disbelief. "A joke? I would never make a joke about my body…Pfuh."  
Gaya was about to retort, but Modo stopped her.  
"Let it go. It is his way of cooping. Just ignore him. You will get used to it. Someday…"  
Gaya shot one more dirty look at Vinnie and walked into the ship. When she walked past Vinnie, she bumped her shoulder against his.  
Vinnie snickered. "She sure has a little temper, right?"  
Modo shook his head. "Only when you are around. Somehow, you always manage to get the worst out of someone. Really, how do you do it?"  
Vinnie smiled his trademark smile. "What can I say? It's a gift."  
Modo walked right past him into the ship. The rest followed. The others who were picked out by Carbine took the other three ships.

When everybody was in the ship, Carbine activated the radio. "Is everybody ready?"  
The three other ships gave the signal they were ready to go.  
"Alright, let's go." Carbine activated the engine.  
But somehow, she hesitated to take off. She looked out of the window. Was she really ready to give up their planet? To leave all those people behind? The answer was no. But otherwise, everybody would die. For nothing. It was a deadly conflict. Both options sucked. Throttle lay a hand on her arm.  
"It's okay, Carbine. I know. But this is the right choice, even if it feels so wrong."  
Carbine suddenly felt tears in her eyes. She hadn't cried in a long time. But this, all this what was happening now, was killing her. She had fought so hard for this planet, for their people. Letting it go was almost impossible. It felt like failure. She looked at Throttle. He gave her a encouraging nodd. Suddenly, determination flooded through her body. How awful this all was, this was the right thing to do. She wiped away her tears and pushed the button. The ship came loose and flew into the air. Everybody was looking out of the tiny windows, to see the incredible view of their homeplanet one last time.

Violet grabbed Vinnie's hand, tears in her eyes. While looking their planet become smaller and smaller, Vinnie stroked her hand. This was crazy. No, beyond crazy. Even for him. What if this was a trap? To lure them out? To chase them away? But soon, he had a answer on all of his questions. He saw a huge flashlight. It was so bright, he closed his eyes in reflex. When he opened them again, he saw Mars explode into million pieces. Even they were on safe distance, they felt the shockwave from the explosion. The ship rocked, but hold it.  
Nobody said something. All they could do was stare at the spot where their lovely home planet used to be. They were officially homeless now. Vinnie was, of course, the first who broke the silence.  
"So… and where do we go now?"

They were flying for hours now, looking for a place were they could land. Everybody was dazed and silent. Even Vinnie sat still and stared out of the window. Violet was laying with her head on his lap and he was stroking her hair absently. He felt weird. Heartbroken because his home, his entire planet was gone. Wiped away. But he also felt some sort of relief. The Plutarkians were gone. The war was gone. As much as he loved to fight, to do all those crazy battles and missions, even he was somehow grew tired of it. And the greatest benefit off it all was that he never had to look at those ugly fin faces again. The smell was something he was never gonna forget, but never gonna miss. But what will the future bring them? 'And they were living happily ever after.'  
No. He didn't believe in fairytales. In happy endings. But only time will tell. Vinnie looked at Violet, who was fast asleep. He was glad they were together. She was his light in the darkness. His anchor in this fucked up world. It felt good to finally be with someone, after all the shit he had been going through. And he was lucky, very lucky that this someone was his Violet. She was a unique personality. And he loved her from the bottom of his heart. He will carry Charley with him for the rest of his life. He still loved her. But it was different. Violet was his soulmate. Everything that had happened, was meant to be. To eventually meet Violet. No matter how hard and heartbreaking these events had been, it was all worth it. She was his home. And as long she would be with him, he could survive everything. Well, almost everything. The pain in his back was killing him. He had forgotten to take some extra painkillers in all the hurry they had to leave. Although the wounds were clean and already healing, it still hurt like hell. The bandage on his face was also starting to get very annoying. He sighed.  
Throttle suddenly stood beside him. "You okay?", he asked with worry written on his face. He had seen the pain on Vinnie's face. Vinnie waved it away, acting all macho. "Nothing I can't handle." But his eyes told otherwise. Throttle shook his head and pushed something in Vinnie's hand.  
"Take this, Vincent." And he walked back to the cockpit. Vinnie looked at the pill in his hand. He glanced around him and quickly put the pill in his mouth. No need to waste any medicine, right? Soon after, the pill did his work and the pain faded away. Vinnie sighed from relief. Better.

After a couple of hours, Carbine became desperate. They were flying for hours now, but still no place to go. Thankfully, the ships still had enough fuel, but the time was ticking. They couldn't fly around for days without finding a place to land.  
"Jake?", Carbine asked. Jake walked over to her. "Yes?"  
"Is there something you can do with your computer? Search if there's any planet close by where we can land? Where there's oxigen?"  
Jake rubbed his chin. "I can try, but I can't promise you anything."  
"That's all I'm asking." Carbine smiled at him. Jake took his seat again and grabbed his hand computer.  
Throttle took Carbine's hand.  
"It will be okay, Carbine. We have each other", he said, trying to comfort her. She squeezed his hand.  
"That's the most important." And she gave him a little smile. When Jake finally said something, everybody was fast asleep, except for Throttle and Carbine. Jake joined them.  
"It seems there is one planet sort of nearby that looks like it's livable", he said. He summed up the coordinates.  
Carbine set them in the computer and activated the automatic pilot.  
"It's still an eight hour flight. Thanks Jake, you did a good job."  
"No problem. Let's just hope it's good enough."  
Carbine radioed the others and gave them the coordinates. She yawned.  
"Go get some sleep. I'll stay awake to keep an eye on things", Throttle said. Carbine kissed him.  
"Thanks, hotshot." She walked to the back of the ship. Jake was still busy with his computer, Stoker sleeping next to him. Gaya and Modo were also sleeping, holding hands. Violet and Vinnie were lying on the couch, Violet lying with her head on Vinnie's chest with Vinnie's arms wrapped around her. Even in his sleep, he protected her. Vinnie was snoring loud, but not so loud as Modo. Carbine sighed and curled herself up on a chair. What a mess. What a strange, fucked up world.

Finally, they were close by the planet Jake had found. Throttle woke Carbine up. They sat together in the cockpit, looking at the planet. It looked a lot like Earth actually. At least there was water. But will there people who lived there? Carbine sure hoped not. They all needed some peace and quietness. She looked at Throttle. "Let's do this", he said and she nodded. "Prepare for landing", she said into the radio. The other ships gave the signal they were ready to follow. The rest woke up right before the ship landed. They all looked out of the window. They saw a beautiful landscape. It was some sort of a dessert with a big bush around it. Large lakes with water. There was a sun shining, but it was a different sun. It gave some sort of a blue glow. If heaven did exist, this sure looked like it. All the ships landed without any trouble. Carbine shut down the engines and silence dawned at them.  
Vinnie stretched and yawned. "Alright, now what?"  
"I suggest we take a quick look around on the bikes. The others can stay here and guard the ships", Carbine suggested.  
"Okay… You know I'm all about risks and stuff, but who knows what could happen when we step into that sun? I really don't wanna die melting away or whatever. I'm way too cool for that", Vinnie said while looking out of the window.  
Modo nodded. "I hate to say it, but he's got a point." Throttle rubbed his chin.  
"Well. Only one way to find out." And he put his helmet on his head in deep space mode. Vinnie and Modo exchanged looks and did the same. No way they were gonna let their bro go out there on his own. They took place on their bikes.

"Ready guys?", Carbine asked. When they nodded, she pushed on the button to open the door. The three mice revved their engines and drove slowly outside. Vinnie held his breath when his tires made contact with the sand, but so far, nothing happened. They drove further, into the weird looking sunlight. Nothing happened. It felt actually very nice. It wasn't that different from the feeling of the sun on Earth. They stopped their bikes. Vinnie pulled of his helmet and inhaled the air. It was fresh, but also warm. Weird. But great. He looked around. The environment was amazing. Very different from Mars, only the sand had the same, red color.  
"It's beautiful", Modo said. Vinnie and Throttle agreed. Throttle waved at the others. They all slowly walked out of the ship, amazed by how beautiful this planet was. And quiet. Jake checked something on his computer.  
"The oxygen level in the air is perfect. Even better than on Mars."  
"Great!", Carbine answered. She felt a pang of joy. Was it finally here? A war free life? She wanted to feel happy, but restraint herself. Who knew how many dangers there were on this planet? But they had a good start. Maybe it was possible to finally be happy. Really happy. She grabbed Throttle's hand and they smiled at each other.

They explored the closest area on the bikes, while the rest was guarding the ships. But it didn't appear to be necessary. They were, by the looks of things, alone. Nearby the bushes, on the edge of the desert, they had found some caves. It was a perfect place to spend the first night. When the sun set, a red moon appeared in the sky. It did get dark, but the temperature stayed the same. The group was sitting together in front of the caves, eating diner. Everybody was still upset and mindblown that Mars was gone. So, for the first time they were actually quiet as mice. Of course, they were lucky they had found this beautiful planet. But nobody felt really happy. Everybody was grieving for the loss of their beloved home and all the mice who had lost their lives. But time will heal. And now, it was time to rebuild. And that was gonna be hard. But they will make it work. One way or another.

' _The hardest part of ending is starting again'_

To be continued...

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Please review! I really need your opinion guys!

So, if you wanna know how the mice adjust to their new homeplanet and find about their new advantures, please read Battle Sympony.  
I'll try to post the first chapter also today.


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